If you go outside and sit somewhere to get some fresh air, one of the first birds you will encounter will be a sparrow, wherever you are. It’s normal because, in terms of distribution, the number of sparrows is considerable. Because they are like this, we often ignore these small and cute birds and just walk away from them.
What if we told you that sparrows actually have some characteristics that you never knew about? Of course, we do not have any surprising information that they contribute to space science, but it is quite interesting that there are so many species of such small creatures, that they live in many different parts of the world, and that they have numerous features such as the materials they use when making nests. Let’s take a closer look at sparrows and see some of their prominent features.
Facts about sparrows:
- There are sparrow species living almost everywhere in the world.
- It was the sparrows that saved New Yorkers from the caterpillar invasion.
- Since their reproductive period is short, they can multiply rapidly.
- Don’t be surprised if you see a sparrow flying with a cigarette butt in its mouth.
- Separating male and female sparrows is child’s play.
- There are species of sparrows that change their voices.
- You may be surprised by the answer to the question of what sparrows eat and how they feed.
- You may see the sparrow you saw once in the same place years later.
There are sparrow species living almost everywhere in the world:
Surprising but true. When we walk on the street, we think they all look the same, but there are nearly 50 different known species of sparrows. 35 of these are species common in North America, 2 in western North America, and 10 in Northern Mexico. In fact, sparrows are creatures found everywhere in the world except Antarctica. The interesting thing is that their homeland is Europe, Asia and Africa and they wander around in flocks. They were later brought to America and Australia by human hands.
It was the sparrows that saved New Yorkers from the caterpillar invasion:
There was no such thing as a sparrow in the American continent until the 19th century. Then, in 1850, a linden moth caterpillar invasion began in New York, USA. Knowing that the biggest predator of this caterpillar was the house sparrow, experts brought hundreds of sparrows from Europe to New York in 1851 and released them onto the streets. Indeed, the caterpillar infestation ended in a short time.
The caterpillar invasion had ended, but 50 years later a new invasion began, the sparrow invasion. The sparrows released into the city multiplied at an incredible speed and dispersed all over the country. Today they are considered an invasive bird species in the country, along with starlings. So much so that hunting sparrows is a legal form of hunting that is always allowed in the USA.
Since their reproductive period is short, they can multiply rapidly:
After breeding, a female sparrow lays an average of 4-5 white eggs with brown spots. After an average incubation period of 11 – 12 days, the chicks hatch and leave the nest two weeks later. A female can lay eggs 4 to 5 times during the breeding period.
It is not possible to talk about sparrows as a pair. They were known to be monogamous for many years, but studies conducted in recent years have shown that this is not true. Experts examining the eggs saw different parental DNA. In other words, both male and female sparrows tend to continue reproduction by mating with others. Maybe this is why they proliferate so much.
Don’t be surprised if you see a sparrow flying with a cigarette butt in its mouth:
In fact, we can see not only sparrows but many other bird species flying with a cigarette butt in their mouth. Of course, since birds are intelligent creatures, they do not smoke, they use these butts to build nests. This isn’t because they use butts as pillows. The nicotine found in butts keeps mites, also known as mites, away from the nest. That’s why they use a lot of butts in their nests made of brushwood.
Separating male and female sparrows is child’s play:
Since birds often do not have the gender characteristics we are used to, we may have difficulty distinguishing which is male and which is female, but this is not the case for sparrows. If a sparrow has a black beak and eyes, a bib-like black patch on its chest, a gray top of its head, white cheeks, and a chestnut neck, it is a male. If its underside is grayish and its back is striped and the flat parts are light brown, that sparrow is a female. Of course, this color may vary from species to species.
There are species of sparrows that change their voice:
We know that every bird, every species and even every individual has its own voice and way of singing. However, the situation with sparrows is a little different. The white-throated sparrow species living in Canada uses two different singing melodies: three-note and two-note. The interesting thing is that this change was observed live. Under normal circumstances, it may take generations for birds to change their tune, but the song of the white-throated sparrow has already spread to birds across the country.
You may be surprised by the answer to the question of what sparrows eat and how they feed:
If you think that these small birds, 11 – 12 cm tall, are innocent creatures, you are wrong because they are carnivorous by nature. They generally feed on moths, small insects and worms. Depending on the structure of the region they live in, their second preferences are seeds and fruits. Moreover, they can easily change their diet. They saw that there were many insects around, they would eat insects, and they saw that there were many seeds, and they would eat seeds. In other words, they can easily adapt to the environment they live in.
You may see the sparrow you saw once in the same place years later:
Most sparrow species are non-migratory. In other words, they are born in one place and live there for 4 – 5 years, which is their average lifespan. Of course, there is also a recorded sparrow that lived for 15 years because it was well cared for. Sparrows living in the city are known to visit areas where grain is abundant, but this is not a complete migration.
Speaking of migration, let’s talk about white-crowned sparrows, a migratory sparrow species. The white-crowned sparrow, which lives in the United States, migrates by flying 4 thousand kilometers from Southern California to Alaska. These sparrows, which eat during the day and continue to fly at night, complete the migration without sleeping almost at all.
We talked about the extraordinary information, some of which you may have heard for the first time, about sparrows, which have developed the ability to live almost everywhere in the world with dozens of different species. Even though they eat insects, the fact that these cute creatures are carnivorous was a bit chilling.
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