English Sparrow Calvin Naftzinger Period 1

Classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Family: Passeridae Genus: Passer Species: P. domesticus Scientific name: Passer domesticus

Size The sparrow is about cm long. Males are roughly the same size as females The bill of the bird is small.

Locations The English Sparrow is a bird that originated from Russia, Europe, and southwest Asia. It is now inhabiting Australia, North America, South America, and South Africa, after being introduced to all these areas.

How’d It Get Here? 16 birds were brought to the United States to get rid of worms that were in shade trees in the mid-1800’s. They died out, but 100 more were brought over a few years later, and then hundreds more on top of those.

Nesting Sparrows tend to build nests in areas with buildings, around rocks, or in bushes. –When built in these areas, the nests are usually messy. Well made nests are usually put in trees near rural areas.

Nesting (cont’d) The English sparrow is also known to force other birds out of their nests –Most commonly targeted are the House Martin, Bluebirds, and Sand Martins. However, in areas where the sparrow originated from, this behavior is less likely to be observed.

Gender FemaleMale

Breeding When the sparrow lays eggs, it has between 5-6 eggs. It will lay 5-6 eggs usually 3 times a year, or even up to 5 times a year. The eggs come in several different patterns and colors.

Diet Diet consists of: –Buds –Young Sprouts –Flowers –Seeds It does not eat insects.

Population Although the population of the sparrow is the greatest in terms of number of any bird in the world, it is seeing a population decline. The bird is considered endangered in the Netherlands and the population is dropping in India.

Countering the Species Countries all over the world are trying to cut down on the population of the sparrow. –America has trappers and hunters that kill off the population. –Australia has a kill on sight policy. –The United States has absolutely no laws that protect the sparrow, making it free game.

Harmful Behavior The sparrow is hated because of it’s behaviors. It often takes the nests from other birds, sometimes killing the other birds, or will even build its own nest on top of another nest.

Harmful Behavior(cont’d) The sparrow will often target and kill birds in order to have more nesting. This behavior has lead to the decline of populations of certain birds in the U.S. and all over the world.

Sparrow pictures

Sparrow eggs

Works Cited icus April 1, w.htm April 1, 2009http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passer_domest icus w.htm tml April 1, 2009http:// tml