How many years does a sparrow live, how does it reproduce? House sparrow: description. What is the difference between a house sparrow and a field sparrow?

Sparrows are the most common birds in large and small cities, villages and towns. People are so used to them that they don’t even know where these crumbs originate, which, by the way, are on the other side of the planet. The homeland of house sparrows is considered to be Asia, as well as the Mediterranean and the Middle East. To learn other interesting facts about these birds, you need to find out everything about their appearance, behavior, nutrition and habits.

Description of sparrows

IN populated areas you can find two types of these tiny birds- brownie and field. The house sparrow always lives close to humans. Representatives of this bird species have remarkably adapted to living conditions near people. They are not afraid even of the harsh climate that prevails in most Russian cities. Sparrows are sedentary birds. They can migrate closer to the south only from the coldest cities with severe winters.

Appearance of birds

The house sparrow is very small in size. The length of its body ranges from 14 to 18 cm. The weight of this small bird can be from 25 to 39 g. The head is quite large in relation to the body, has round shape. The sparrow's beak is wide and conical. Its length can reach 1.5 cm. The bird looks strong and quite large for its weight. The tail is usually 5-6 cm in size. The length of the limbs is about 2-2.5 cm.

Female sparrows are significantly smaller than males. The color of their plumage also differs according to gender. The upper part of the bird's body is always brown. In this case, the lower one has a light gray color. The wings of sparrows are framed with white and yellow transverse stripes. The differences between the female and the male are the color of the head and neck. In males, the crown is always dark gray, and the area under the eyes is light gray. The throat and chest are framed by a black spot. In females, the crown and neck are always light brown. During the mating season, the color of the birds' feathers darkens significantly. The description of house sparrows at this time may slightly differ from the above characteristics.

Sparrow breeding

The house species of these birds always settles near human habitation. They can nest in separate pairs, and sometimes join in groups. Sparrows make nests in trees, in cracks and crevices of old buildings, under the roofs of houses, and also in thickets of bushes. Both representatives of the couple are always involved in the construction of housing. To do this, they use dry grass, straw, and small branches. A depression is always built in the center of the nest to prevent eggs or chicks from falling out.

Most often, the female begins laying eggs in April. The nest can then contain up to 10 eggs. They are white with brown spots. The incubation period lasts approximately 2 weeks. When the chicks hatch, the female and male begin to feed them insects together. Babies acquire the ability to fly within two weeks of birth. Their lifespan can reach 10 years. However, only a small part of birds survive even to 4 years.

What do sparrows eat?

Their diet mostly consists of plant products. House sparrows love various seeds, grains of cereals and herbs. However, most often they have to make do with what is available in populated areas. That's why sparrows eat human food waste, insects, berries and even buds on trees.

Not everyone knows what the house sparrow eats winter period. Indeed, at this time, the main part of the diet of these birds, which consists of vegetation, disappears from access. Fortunately, birds are often fed by people. All kinds of feeders with seeds and crackers can save the lives of hundreds of birds that cannot withstand a hungry winter and die from the cold. Like many other birds, sparrows need sand to digest their food well. Sometimes birds eat small pebbles and dried hard grains instead.

Tree sparrows

They are not so attached to human habitats. Therefore, they often settle in steppe and field areas. The name of the bird species comes from this feature. The house sparrow lives in cities and residential areas. But the field ones can be found on the outskirts of villages, which is why they are often called village ones. These birds do not have external differences by gender. Females and males have the same feather color and size.

Tree sparrows prefer warm and dry climates. They never live together with the house species of birds. If they have to cross paths, it is always accompanied by fights and competition for territory. Each species has high social activity. These birds are not afraid of people or pets. Therefore, you can very often see how a sparrow brazenly eats food from a bowl of a street dog, which is sleeping peacefully, not noticing that it is being eaten by a small bird.

During the spring and summer, tree sparrows eat insects, and after the crops ripen, they switch to food from fields, gardens and vineyards. Plant food during this period is quite enough for them. When cold weather sets in, birds have to make do with grains and weed seeds. Sometimes they fly into the courtyards of residential buildings to find some food for themselves.

Differences between field and house sparrows

Not everyone knows how to distinguish a tree sparrow from a house sparrow. The field variety of birds is a bit similar to male house birds. But at the same time they have a more elegant shape and less weight. An adult has a body length of 12 to 14 cm. The main difference between these species is the color of the crown and back of the head. These parts of their body are bright chestnut in color. Tree sparrows also have small black spots in the ear area and under the beak. The birds' necks are framed by a collar of snow-white feathers, and their wings have not one, but two light stripes.

Both types of sparrows have high level mortality. Despite the fact that these birds can live up to 10 years, few of them even survive their first winter. Like all birds living in harsh climatic conditions and wildlife, they are exposed to various dangers every day. Lack of food in winter is the main one. That is why, with the onset of cold weather, people make feeders from scrap materials, and then fill them with sunflower seeds or other plants. Such kindness and care on the part of humans annually saves hundreds of sparrows from starvation.

Sparrow- it's small bird passerine family. Sparrows are the most famous birds that coexist with humans with great pleasure.

Description of the sparrow.

Sparrow is recognizable by appearance and for his characteristic chirping. The color of the plumage in the upper part is brownish-brown interspersed with black feathers. On the head near the ears and belly are light gray. Sparrows have a small short tail and a fairly powerful beak. On average, the body length of a sparrow is about 16 cm, its weight is tiny - from 25 to 35 grams, and its wingspan is up to 27 cm.

How to distinguish a male sparrow from a female?

A male sparrow can be distinguished from a female by a characteristic black spot that covers the chin, throat and upper chest. The male's head also has a dark grey colour. The female sparrow is smaller in size, the head and throat are gray, and above the eyes there are gray-yellow stripes, very pale, almost invisible.

Where do sparrows live?

You can meet sparrows almost everywhere. They massively populate the centers of cities and towns. The habitat is wide, the sparrow is found from Western Europe to Sea of ​​Okhotsk, in East and Central Asia. It is widespread even in Siberia.

Features of the lifestyle and behavior of sparrows.

Sparrows lead a sedentary lifestyle, choosing a territory and nesting. The raised offspring remain close to their parents, thus the sparrows form large flocks. This is facilitated by the high fertility of the sparrow and the abundance of food due to the proximity of human settlements.

Ornithologists, observing sparrows, found that these birds create a pair for almost their entire lives. The life expectancy of sparrows is on average up to 5 years. But there were specimens of birds whose age was about 11 years. The short life expectancy of sparrows is due to the fact that the young often die in the first winter. Sparrows nest almost anywhere they can place a nest. These include the eaves of balconies, birdhouses, voids in wooden or stone buildings, sometimes pipes and even heaps of garbage. In our area, couples form towards the end of winter. At this time, sparrows (males) are animated, chirping loudly, talking and even sometimes fighting.

Reproduction of sparrows.

A male and female sparrow build a nest together. As a rule, this is a rough structure made of feathers, straw, dry grass, with a small depression in the center. Construction of the nest begins in March, and in April the birds begin laying eggs. During a season, a female can lay up to 5 clutches. The clutch usually contains up to 7 white eggs with dark specks. Incubation period Hatching of eggs lasts about two weeks. The chicks hatch slightly pubescent, almost naked. Feeding the offspring takes approximately 14 to 17 days; both parents feed the chicks mainly with insects.

Around the 10th day, the chicks try to fly. After a couple of days at the end of May - beginning of June, they leave the nests. By the end of autumn, the sparrows become animated again, chirping loudly and courting the females. Nest construction begins. There will be no chicks in these nests until spring, and a place prepared in this way in winter will serve the sparrows as protection from autumn rains and winter frosts.

The sparrow is a small bird widespread in cities. The weight of a sparrow is only from 20 to 35 grams. Meanwhile, the sparrow belongs to the passerine order, which in addition to it includes more than 5,000 species of birds. The most major representative group is the raven (its weight is about one and a half kilograms), the smallest is the wren (weight up to 10 grams).

The sparrow got its name in ancient times and it is associated with the habits of these birds to raid farmland. While chasing the birds, people shouted “Beat the thief!” But in fairness, it is worth noting that raids on fields were not always carried out only by sparrows, but also by other representatives of the detachment.

There are two types of sparrows in Russia: the house sparrow, or city sparrow, and the field sparrow, or village sparrow.

Interesting facts about sparrows: the structure of the sparrow's eyes is such that birds see the world in a pinkish color. The sparrow's heart beats up to 850 beats per minute at rest, and during flight up to 1000 beats per minute. At the same time, severe fright is fraught for the bird even fatal, as it significantly increases blood pressure. The body temperature of a sparrow is about 40 degrees. A sparrow spends a lot of energy per day and therefore cannot starve for more than two days.

House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Kingdom: Animals
Type: Chordata
Class: Birds
Order: Passeriformes
Suborder: Passeri
Superfamily: Passeroidea
Family: Passerines
Genus: True sparrows
Species: House Sparrow

Appearance

The color of the sparrow's plumage is brownish-brownish on top and light on the belly. Sexual dimorphism is developed among sparrows. The male can be identified by a large dark spot on the chin, which also extends to the crop and chest. The female, unlike the male, has a dark brown upper part of the head, while the male’s is gray. In addition, the male is generally more colorful than the female; in the spring his plumage is especially remarkable.

Sparrow's back Brown has longitudinal stripes. There are brown stripes on the head near the eyes. The upper tail is grayish or brownish in color. The wing feathers have a light orange border that forms stripes on the wing. The middle wing coverts have white tips. The color of the beak and legs is dark.

The female's plumage is less variegated. The bird's head and rump are brown, with light brown stripes running along the sides of the head. The feathering on the cheeks is grayish in color. The abdomen is light. Young sparrows are similar in appearance to the female. The bird's body length is only 15-17 cm. Weight ranges from 23-35 grams.

Classification

There are 16 subspecies of house sparrow:

Passer domesticus africanus
Passer domesticus bactrianus
Passer domesticus balearoibericus
Passer domesticus biblicus
Passer domesticus brutius
Passer domesticus domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Passer domesticus hufufae
Passer domesticus hyrcanus
Passer domesticus indicus - Indian
Passer domesticus maltae
Passer domesticus niloticus
Passer domesticus parkini
Passer domesticus payni
Passer domesticus persicus
Passer domesticus rufidorsalis
Passer domesticus tingitanus

Previously, the Indian sparrow, common in Central Asia, similar in color to the house sparrow, but migratory and less synanthropic, was considered as independent type(P. indicus).

Spreading

Initially, the distribution range of sparrows was limited to the territory Northern Europe. However, subsequently the birds spread across almost all continents of the earth, except for the Arctic and some areas of the southeastern and central Asia.

Today, the sparrow can be found even in South Africa, Australia and America, where the bird was introduced at the beginning of the twentieth century.

The sparrow always chooses places to live in close proximity to humans. That is why sparrows can be found even in the north, in the tundra and forest-tundra zones (Yakutia, Murmansk region).

Sparrows lead a sedentary lifestyle. Only populations of birds living in the northernmost parts of their range (for example, the White-crowned Sparrow) go to more distant wintering grounds. warm places. But their flight, as a rule, is not very far - up to a thousand kilometers.

Lifestyle

The sparrow is a human companion everywhere. He adapts well to changes external conditions And economic activity it has virtually no effect on humans.

However, in big cities V last years A decrease in the number of sparrows has been observed. The reason for this is the deterioration of the environmental situation, in particular the use on the streets of megacities. chemical substances(for example, to deal with snow).

Sparrows are distinguished by high fertility - this is what explains its wide distribution even in places unusual for it - in the northern territories. Sparrows also settle in towns, villages, suburbs - wherever people live. It is next to a person that the sparrow receives favorable conditions for reproduction, since it has no problems getting food.

Nutrition

The sparrow's main food is plant food. Sparrows catch insects in order to feed their chicks, which require protein food during the period of active growth. IN rural areas To search for food, sparrows fly to fields and farmlands, picking up grains or seeds of agricultural crops. The sparrow can sometimes cause significant harm agriculture, pecking at fruits and berries in gardens, eating cereal crops (the sparrow causes the greatest damage in the summer: sunflower and hemp crops suffer from it).

In spring, sparrows peck young buds on garden trees and shrubs. But in spring period sparrows are even able to provide benefits by pecking harmful insects. If sparrows settle where there are no fields or gardens in the immediate vicinity, they obtain their food in meadows and forest edges, where they peck seeds of wild herbs or pick up insects.

One sparrow per day requires an amount of food equal to 10-15% of its weight. A sparrow spends a lot of energy per day and therefore cannot starve for more than two days. If the bird does not eat, it faces rapid hypothermia, since it has no fat reserves.

Reproduction

Sparrows are monogamous by nature. During the breeding season, birds look for a mate and remain faithful to their partner for at least a season, and sometimes for their entire life.

Sparrows begin building nests in March. Sparrows manage to build nests in the most unusual places: under the roofs of houses, in the burrows of other birds (swallows) and mammals (ground squirrels or hamsters), in wells, in tree hollows, in rock crevices. Interesting fact: to build a home, tree sparrows choose places in the immediate vicinity or even in the walls of the nests of predators (ravens or eagles) - in this way they provide reliable protection for their nest.

Sparrows mainly nest in pairs. But sometimes they form flocks. The female begins laying eggs in April. Depending on the temperature regime and the age of the bird, sparrows begin to lay eggs earlier or later - at the beginning or end of April. There are usually 5-7 (sometimes up to 10) eggs in a clutch. Incubation lasts 11-12 days. To feed their offspring, sparrows catch insects. Both parents share care of the offspring. The chicks grow quickly and are able to fly out of the nest already on the 10th day after birth.

After the chick flies out of the nest, the parents take care of it for some time. In general, it takes a sparrow about 40 days to breed and raise one offspring. Immediately after the first generation leaves the nest, the female begins a new clutch (usually this happens in the second half of June). Concerns about the first brood fall entirely on the male. In one season, sparrows can breed 2-3 offspring. All young sparrows from broods of the same season flock together in one flock and fly together to feed.

Health to you and your pets!

The sparrow belongs to the weaver family, and once upon a time the sparrow lived in Africa, then it reached the Mediterranean countries, met people, and began its march around the world, and at the same time its transformation into the sparrow we are accustomed to seeing. He no longer separated himself from people. Even when man began to populate Siberia, the sparrow followed him, man mastered the tundra - and together with people, the sparrow found itself in populated areas. In 1850, several pairs of sparrows were brought to America, and they soon became firmly established there.

Sparrows live independently, but many settle in very close proximity to humans. Sometimes, unexpectedly, the sparrow remembers that it is from the weaver family, famous nest-builders, and tries to build something original, something like a ball with a pipe-shaped entrance. But this rarely happens. Typically, sparrows make primitive nests wherever necessary: ​​under the roof of a house or under an eaves, behind a window frame or in an old drainpipe, under rafters or in the hollow of a tree growing in the garden. Sometimes he brazenly tries to seize a birdhouse or a swallow’s nest (and the sparrow sometimes succeeds).

An adult sparrow has a varied diet: in addition to insects, it eats seeds and berries, grains and flower buds, food waste, and so on.

People know a lot about sparrows: what they eat, where they live, how they behave different conditions. They don’t know only one thing - whether a sparrow is useful or harmful. When sparrows appeared in America, they were very happy - newspapers wrote about sparrows, poems were written in their honor, and even a “society of friends of the sparrow” was created. But then the impudent sparrow, not appreciating the friendly attitude, caused such mischief, causing devastation in the fields and gardens, that their number began to be limited.

The sparrow also does a lot of harm in our country, destroying crops of grain and sunflowers, pecking the buds of flowers of fruit and berry trees, eating berries, stealing grain (at one time, apparently, he was famous for this, it’s not for nothing that he is called the sparrow - “beat the thief” ). He also creates mischief in the gardens. This is how sparrows behave all over the world.

But in the United States, where the number of sparrows is limited, a monument to this bird was erected in the city of Boston for saving gardens, vegetable gardens and fields from pests (in particular, from caterpillars).

In China in the 60s, having realized how much wheat and rice sparrows destroy, they declared war on these birds. In some places the sparrows were completely exterminated. After some time, the Chinese had to buy this bird in Mongolia and release it in those places where the sparrows were exterminated. And all because sparrows eat not only cultivated plants or their seeds. According to rough estimates, a flock of sparrows (1000 birds) destroys 8 kilograms of weed seeds in one month. This is a significant contribution to the protection of cultivated plants. But that’s not all, because sparrows also destroy insects. And if you consider that sparrows are among the most common birds, then the number of insects they destroy is astronomical. Sparrows, in turn, feed on beneficial predator birds and owls.

Therefore, scientists cannot determine in any way their attitude towards the sparrow: what does it bring to humans more - harm or benefit? Obviously, it all depends on the place where the birds live, on their number and on some other factors.

The male House Sparrow is quite varied in coloration, and in the spring he is a real dandy. Its forehead, crown and nape are gray with brownish feather edges. There are wide brown stripes on the sides of the head. The frenulum and narrow stripes above the eyes are black. The back is rusty brown with wide black longitudinal streaks. The loin and rump are brownish-gray. The tail feathers are dark brown with narrow light edges. The wings are dark brown with a reddish edge of feathers. Middle wing coverts have white tips that form white transverse stripes on the wings. The chin, throat, crop and upper chest are black, in fresh feathers with narrow light edges, which become bare by spring. The underparts are white or light gray, darkening on the sides. The legs are brown, the beak is brownish-black in winter and bluish-black in spring. The female is much more modestly colored. The top of the head and lower back are brown; there is an ocher stripe on the sides of the head. The cheeks, ear coverts and sides of the neck are brownish-gray. The back is brownish-buffy with dark feather shafts. The belly is light, brownish-gray in color. Young birds are similar to the female, only there is more brown in their color.

Not everyone distinguishes between house sparrows and tree sparrows by appearance, especially since they sometimes stay together in common flocks. Meanwhile, the differences between these species are quite significant. Firstly, the tree sparrow does not have such pronounced sexual dimorphism as its house brother. Males and females are colored exactly the same. Secondly, it is significantly smaller than the house sparrow: its mass ranges from 20 to 30 g, while the mass of the house sparrow is from 28 to 38 g. The coloring of adult tree sparrows is quite elegant. Top of the head, cap, brown. The frenulum, the stripe under the eye, the throat and ear coverts are black, and there is a dot on the white cheeks - a “dimple”. The sides of the neck also white. The plumage of the back, wings and tail is brown, often with dark stems and light ocher edges of the feathers. The abdomen is whitish, darkening towards the sides. The beak is black in summer, brownish-black in winter with a yellowish base. Legs are pale brown. The plumage of young birds is significantly duller than that of adults. The top of their head and back are grayish-brown with dark streaks. The belly is off-white, the throat, frenulum and ear coverts are gray.

The sparrow can rightfully be considered one of the most common birds due to its extraordinary adaptability to living in close proximity to human habitation. Their caution, high ability to learn and other behavioral features play a significant role.

Most house sparrows nest under roofs, behind window frames, behind wall cladding, etc. They also sit comfortably in hollows and birdhouses. True, starlings often survive from their birdhouses. The tree sparrow also makes nests in similar places. But he prefers hollow trees.

Tree sparrows gravitate more towards rural areas, as their name suggests, and in cities, most of them live in squares and parks. The house sparrow, on the contrary, is more of a city bird than a country bird. However, these attachments do not prevent both species from often settling side by side. Both field and house sparrow In winter, it feeds on everything it can pick up near a person. In summer, food of animal origin comes first - various insects, which birds collect in vegetable gardens, gardens, squares and parks.

Sparrows are social birds. This is especially striking in the spring, when sparrows, as if on command, flock to one bush and, interrupting each other, begin to chirp in unison. "Collective singing" - required element their pre-nesting behavior. Its meaning is to attract it to a specific area, perhaps more birds. He also synchronizes the mating behavior of future breeding partners, sorts out relationships, etc. After singing, courtship begins: the male lowers his wings, lifts his tail, chirps and jumps around the female like a cockerel.

Sparrows, for the most part, are typically sedentary birds. Only in some, usually border areas of the range - Central Asia, Yakutia, Western Europe There are more or less regular flights.

In the conditions of the central part of Russia, house sparrows usually have three broods of chicks per season. Nesting begins in March, at which time birds actively build nests. The first eggs appear in April. The timing of egg laying depends on the climatic conditions of the year. Thus, the beginning of laying can occur either in the first or third ten days of April, and many (mostly one-year-old) females begin nesting in May. The nesting season ends in early - mid-August, when the birds begin their post-nesting moult, during which they completely change their plumage. A.I. Ilyenko writes in his book: “for the female to lay eggs (4-5 days), incubate (11-12 days), feed the chicks in the nest (13-15 days) and raise them after leaving the nest (at least 12 days) only about 41 days are needed." After the chicks fly out of the nest, the care for them, for the most part, falls on the male, while the female builds the nest and makes the next clutch. The number of eggs in a clutch varies from 3 to 9. In the tropics it is significantly less than in the temperate climatic zone. Interestingly, in rural areas there are always more eggs in the clutch than in urban areas. Both male and female take part in incubation and feeding.

As a rule, sparrows nest in pairs - monogamous. The male and female remain faithful to each other throughout the entire nesting period, and possibly throughout their lives.

Sparrows manage to place their nests in a variety of places. In terms of diversity of nesting sites, they hold the lead among birds. In holes made by birds (shore swallows, wheatears, bee-eaters) and animals (ground squirrels, gerbils, hamsters), and under the roofs of buildings, in cracks of adobe buildings, cliffs, rocks and in wells, in tree hollows and stump cavities, in old nests small birds and birdhouses, titmouses and other artificial nest boxes, at the base of some nests large birds and finally, just on tree branches.

P.N. Romanov, who was on expeditions in Western Kazakhstan, said that about 30 pairs of tree sparrows settled in the nest of the Imperial Eagle. Here the birds felt reliable protection from the mighty eagle. Sparrows also nest in the walls of the nests of rooks, crows, and magpies.

In sparrows, eggs are distinguished by clearly visible pigmentation in the form of numerous brownish spots on a light olive or cream background.

The sparrow successfully clears hollows occupied by tits, flycatchers, redstarts, nuthatches, the lesser spotted woodpecker and small animals - hazel dormouse, sometimes even killing weaker hosts. The Tree Sparrow can be evicted by the House Sparrow, Starling, Wingtail and Swift. Swifts and starlings occasionally invade house sparrow nests.

The sparrow also has other types of enemies who destroy its nests and eat its eggs and chicks. These include marten, squirrel, and great spotted woodpecker.

Sparrows can be used as nurse birds to breed some rare or valuable bird species. It is known that experiments in nature on replacing sparrow eggs with eggs of such hollow-nesters as tits, redstarts and even flycatchers have often been successful. With the help of sparrows, new species of birds that are desirable for us can be bred in forested and park areas of cities. Sparrows feed their broods mainly with insects, so they can also feed the offspring of some insectivorous birds.

There are many sparrows. Eat black-breasted sparrow. It is found in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and generally in Southern Europe, Africa and Asia. It really has a black chest and also settles near human habitation. Eat saxaul sparrow. Eat deserted- he is much lighter than his brothers and does not tweet like them, but screams quite loudly. Eat ground sparrow- in our country lives in Altai and Transbaikalia. It is interesting because it nests and spends the night in abandoned rodent burrows (sometimes it even builds its nest at a depth of about a meter). Eat stone sparrow.

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The house sparrow belongs to the genus true sparrows and forms a species that lives in the vicinity of humans. This bird is extremely common throughout the world. The original homeland of the bird is most of Europe and Western Asia. Over time, it settled in the northern and eastern regions of Africa, Central and Middle Asia, and Siberia. By the beginning of the last century, the bird fell into South Africa, to the American continent, to Australia and New Zealand.

It is unclear how this feathered baby ended up so far from his native place. In some places it was brought deliberately, and in others by accident. But everywhere representatives of the species adapted perfectly. Nowadays they can even be found in Yakutia. This bird is sedentary. Only from the coldest northern places in winter it migrates further south. also in winter months leaves Central Asia, moving to India and the Middle East.

The bird is small. Body length varies from 14 to 18 cm with a weight of 25-39 g. The head is large and rounded. The beak is thick and has a conical shape with a length of 1.1-1.5 cm. In general, the physique is strong. The tail reaches 5-6.5 cm in length. The limbs are 1.7-2.5 cm long. Females are somewhat smaller than males. In Europe average weight of these birds, regardless of gender, is 30 g. The southern subspecies weigh on average 26 g.

The color of the plumage varies between males and females. The general background of the upper body is brown. The lower part of the body is light gray. There is a white-yellow transverse stripe on the wings. Males have a dark gray top of the head. The part of the head below the eyes is light gray. There is a black spot on the throat and chest. Females have a light brown head and neck. IN mating season their plumage darkens. Young birds look similar to adult females.

Reproduction and lifespan

Sparrows nest near human habitation. They can form separate pairs, and sometimes they unite into colonies. Nests are made in tree hollows, in crevices of structures and buildings, in burrows on the slopes of ravines, in bushes and on tree branches. Both the male and the female build the nest. They make it from dry grass, straw, and small twigs. A small recess is made inside.

The female usually lays eggs in April. It contains from 4 to 10 eggs. They are white in color with brown spots. The incubation period lasts about 2 weeks. The female and male feed the hatched chicks with insects. Young birds begin to fly 14-16 days after birth. As for life expectancy, the house sparrow can live up to 10-11 years. But in most cases, birds live no more than 4 years if they survive the first winter. About 70% of these small birds do not live to see one year old. The maximum life expectancy is 23 years. A sparrow from Denmark lived to this age. Another centenarian lived 19 years and 9 months.

Behavior and nutrition

This species constantly lives next to humans. It has 12 subspecies, which differ slightly in plumage color and size. For example, house sparrows living in Spain and Italy have chestnut-colored tops. There are other minor differences. The bird tolerates a variety of climatic conditions, but prefers dry over wet tropical climate. Can live without water, getting moisture from berries.

These birds are extremely social. When feeding, they always unite in large flocks. Outside the breeding season, they spend the night in trees or bushes. The diet mostly consists of plant food. Insects make up a small percentage. They are mainly used to feed chicks. The house sparrow loves grain seeds, but always eats what is available. This includes waste from garbage cans, berries, buds, and seeds of various herbs.

These birds, like many other birds, need sand to properly digest their food. Coarse grains and small pebbles can serve as a substitute for sand. When flying, the bird can reach a speed of 45 km/h. He doesn't walk on the ground, but jumps. Can swim and dive. Most of these birds do not move more than a few kilometers from their main habitat throughout their lives. Only 2 subspecies migrate. Before flying, they increase their weight. All over the world, March 20 is celebrated as World Sparrow Day. It was introduced in 2010.