Hey! Yes, we are who you think we are. We are House sparrows and you would see us very regularly. But do you know? This phenomenon is almost for every person in the world. This is because we have such a huge range and our adaptive skills are second to none.
You might ignore us as we are very commonly seen but there are some important things about us which you would be very interested to know, have a look:
- We one of the first described species that was given a scientific name in modern biological classification by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. We were first given the scientific name Fringilla Domestica which was later changed to Passer Domesticus.
- We are very common in ancient times. In the wild, the oldest sparrow to be ever recorded lived 19 years and 9 months. In captivity, the oldest recorded sparrow lived for 23 years.
- Do you know? We fly at speeds of 45.5 kmph but that is not the interesting part, we flap our wings when we fly, and it is 15 wingbeats per second which is very fast.
- We have a rare behavior. When the parents of young chicks do not return, other sparrows take care of the young.
- We are a symbol of lust, sexual potency, commonness, and vulgarity in several cultures, particularly in Greek mythology where goddess Aphrodite who is the goddess of love is associated with us.
- We are also referred to in various religious texts. In the Bible, Jesus uses sparrows as an example of divine providence in the Gospel of Matthew. This also inspired Shakespeare to use our reference in Hamlet and Gospel hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow.
- We are also seen in ancient Egyptian art but very rarely. We are present as hieroglyph which has no phonetic value.
- You think you humans have a very large population? We have population of 89 crores to 131 crores.
SOME QUICK FACTS ABOUT US:
Our Scientific Name: Passer domesticus.
Identification: Parrots: Males are green with orange bill; females are red with black bill.
Our Habitat: live in all kinds of habitats and do not prefer deserts, woodlands, and grasslands.
Our Range:
Food Habits: Herbivorous; feed mainly on seeds, grains, and weeds.
Breeding Period: All around the year.
Number of eggs laid: 1-10 eggs.
Incubation period: 11-14 days.
Lifespan: about 3 years.
IUCN red list status: Least Concern.
CITES: Not Listed.
Indian Wildlife Protection Act: Not Listed.
SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passeridae
Genus: Passer
Species: P. domesticus
COMPLETE DETAILS ABOUT US FOR ANIMAL ENTHUSIASTS:
We are small birds of the sparrow family found in most of the world. Let us tell you more about us and our species.
We are scientifically called as Passer Domesticus.
HOW WE LOOK:
We are small birds with a total length of 14cm-18cm, a tail length of 5.2cm-6.5cm and weigh 24gms-40gms. We are plump birds with a small beak. Non-breeding males and non-breeding females look alike.
They are brown to buff in color with black and brown stripes. There is a black spot below the bill. They have brown and white spots on their backs. Our bill is brown to yellow in color, eyes are black in color and our legs are brown in color.
Breeding males of our species become darker with lower parts turning whitish-grey. The brown becomes chocolate brown and the black spot below the beak becomes darker and spreads a little. Bill is black in color, and the legs are darker in color.
Breeding females look similar to non-breeding females. The young of our species look similar to the females with fewer spots and pale color feathers.
WE ARE FOUND IN:
We are highly adaptive birds and can live in many habitats across the world. We generally do not prefer deserts, woodlands, and grasslands but live mostly in and around human settlements. We have a huge range and depending on the 12 subspecies we are distributed accordingly. The 12 subspecies are divided into 2 groups.
P. d. domesticus group:
· P. d. domesticus is found in North Asia and most of Europe.
· P. d. balearoibericus is found in France, Balkans, Anatolia and Balearic Islands.
· P. d. tingitanus is found in Algeria, Libya, and Morocco.
· P. d. niloticus is found in Egypt, Sudan, and Somalia.
· P. d. persicus is found in Iran and Afghanistan.
· P. d. biblicus is found in Palestine, Cyprus, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Kuwait. P. d. indicus group:
· P. d. hyrcanus is found in Iran, near Caspian Sea, and Azerbaijan.
· P. d. bactrianus is found in Kazakhstan, Northern Iran, Afghanistan, Western Pakistan, (It is migratory).
· P. d. parkini is found in Northern India and South-Eastern Nepal (It is migratory).
· P. d. indicus is found in India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Eastern Iran, Southwest Arabia, and Israel.
· P. d. hufufae is found in Saudi Arabia.
· P. d. rufidorsalis is found in Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and is introduced in Comoros.
WHAT WE EAT:
We are herbivorous birds and mostly forage on seeds, grains, and weeds. We are very adaptive and can eat other food that is available in our range. In human settlements, we search for food in garbage containers, near restaurants, and food places. We are also sometimes fed by humans.
WE REPRODUCTION:
We are monogamous birds (having one mate for a lifetime). We are highly social birds and live alongside other bird species. Males of our species generally calls for females. Females sometimes are dominant over the males and would even fight with other females. The breeding season depends on our range. The nest is built by both members of the pair. The nest is built in corners of houses, holes of cliffs, and tree hollows using leaves and twigs.
The female lays 1-10 eggs at a time. The incubation period is 11-14 days. The female incubates. Though the male sits on the egg to incubate, it is ineffective due to the presence of feathers.
The young chicks are fed and taken care of by both the parents. The chicks leave the nest after 14-16 days. Our average lifespan is 3 years.
MORE ABOUT US:
We are highly social birds and live alongside other species of birds.
We communicate with each other using various vocalizations. These vocalizations include different variations of chirping sounds.
As social activities, we dust or water bath and also sing together.
We feed on the ground but live in trees and bushes.
We are known to perform complex tasks like getting food by opening/sneaking through the doors of restaurants and other food containing places.
We fly fast (average speed of 45.5 kmph) and we fly by flapping our wings very fast.
We normally hop around and do not swim but when we face any threats, we can swim and even dive underwater.
If in case, parents of young chicks couldn’t return to the nest, other sparrow pair would take care of the young chicks. This behaviour is very rare in birds.
We have predators like cats and big birds. Sometimes squirrels and humans hunt us.
OUR CONSERVATION:
We are very common and survive very well in the world. We are abundantly available in our range and are listed as “Least Concern” in the red list of IUCN. Our estimated population is in between 89,60,00,000 and 131,00,00,000.
