House Sparrow

The house sparrow is a small, chatty brown bird that loves to live near people. Male sparrows have a smart black bib under their chins and grey caps, while females and young ones wear softer browns and greys. Wherever there are houses, gardens, and farms, you will often find sparrows hopping about and cheeping to each other.

This little bird has travelled almost everywhere. The house sparrow is the most widely spread wild bird in the whole world, living beside people on nearly every continent except icy Antarctica. It began in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and then spread far and wide, often carried along as humans moved to new lands.

Sparrows are omnivores, which means they eat lots of different foods. Grown-up sparrows mostly crunch up seeds and grains, and they are happy to gobble crumbs from a picnic too. But baby sparrows need softer meals, so their parents feed them juicy insects like caterpillars and beetles to help them grow big and strong.

House sparrows are wonderfully sociable birds. They gather in busy, chirping little flocks, and they love to take "dust baths", flicking dry soil through their feathers to stay clean and comfy. They often splash in shallow puddles too, just like they are having a good wash.

In many towns and countries, sparrow numbers have been going down, partly because there are fewer insects for the chicks and fewer cosy nooks to nest in. Even though there are still huge numbers of them, people can help by leaving wild corners in gardens and by putting up special sparrow nest boxes for these friendly neighbours.