Scientific Name:   Passer domesticus

Length:   5.9-6.7 in (15-17 cm)

Weight:   0.9-1.1 oz (27-30 g)

Wingspan:   7.5-9.8 in (19-25 cm)

Nest:   The nests are made of coarse dried vegetation, often stuffed into the hole until it’s nearly filled. The birds then use finer material, including feathers, string, and paper, for the lining, usually in an enclosed niche such as cavity in tree, hole in building, rain gutter, birdhouse, nests of other birds. It is made of material such as grass, weeds, twigs, trash, often lined with feathers.

Eggs:   Usually 3-6, sometimes 2-7, rarely 1-8. Whitish to greenish white, with brown and gray dots concentrated toward larger end. Incubation is by both parents, 10-14 days.

Feeding Behavior:   They are noisy sparrows that flutter down from eaves and fencerows to hop and peck at crumbs or birdseed. Eating mostly grains and seeds, as well as livestock feed and, in cities, discarded food. Among the crops they eat are corn, oats, wheat, and sorghum. Wild foods include ragweed, crabgrass and other grasses, and buckwheat. House Sparrows readily eat birdseed including millet, milo, and sunflower seeds.

Young:   Both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave nest about 2 weeks after hatching. 2-3 broods per year.

Range:   The house sparrow originated in the Middle East and spread, along with agriculture, to most of Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Since the mid-19th century, it has reached most of the world, chiefly due to deliberate introductions, but also through natural and shipborne dispersal. The house sparrow is closely associated with human habitation and cultivation.

Brief Description:   Male House Sparrows are brightly colored birds with gray heads, white cheeks, a black bib, and rufous neck – although in cities you may see some that are dull and grubby. Females are a plain buffy-brown overall with dingy gray-brown underparts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown.