House Sparrow | Frost Magazine

The cheerful, chirpy house sparrow (Passer domesticus) was once a very common sight in towns and villages.
Sadly, the house sparrow population in Britain has declined dramatically since the 1970s – in some urban areas by up to 90%.

A shortage of nesting sites is one of the major factors. Sparrows like to nest in the eaves of houses or tree holes. If you know that there are sparrows in your area, why not help them out? They will happily accept special nest boxes that can house more than one pair. There is also a shortage of food, especially of insect food that the nestlings are fed on and seed. Sparrows come to my feeding station all year round and I am very happy to offer some seed.

Sparrows are very social birds and can always be found in flocks. The birds feed together, sing together, bathe together and even nest next to each other. There’s a clear hierarchy within the flock.

: Sparrows having a bath

The older males – the ones with the largest black ‘bibs’ – have the highest status.
The sparrow is anything but a ‘boring brown’ bird. Check out some of my favourite photos:

: This beautiful male house sparrow has just had a bath.

Female house sparrow

Young sparrow

Male sparrow with nesting material

I am lucky. I just need to turn my head and am able to watch a family of house sparrows in my garden. “My” sparrows have recently started to bring along their fledglings – at least six tiny birds that are constantly calling for food. A real joy to watch! The adults feed them insects, seeds and bits of fat ball that I provide. Some of the juveniles can already feed themselves when Mum and Dad are not looking but as soon as they turn around, the young ones beg as if they hadn’t been fed in hours. Too cute for words!