Habits of sparrows. Sparrow: about nature for children
Sparrows are widely distributed. Probably, these nimble birds are known in every country in the world. Sparrows live in the north and south, close to humans. Together with him they moved to distant Australia. As soon as people build a new city, the sparrows are right there. Because we are used to living with people in crowded villages and cities.
“Sparrows are a genus of birds of the weaver family, suborder – songbirds. There are several types of sparrows: house sparrow, field sparrow, stone sparrow.
In the book “Animal Life” I read that house sparrows love to bathe in dust or sand. They feed on seeds, berries, insects,
In the brownie, the plumage color of the male and female is different; The dorsal side of the male is colored brown, the ventral side is whitish, the crown is gray, there is a chestnut stripe on the sides of the head, and females without gray and chestnut on the head, body length up to 17.5 cm, wingspan up to 26 cm, weight up to 35 gr. This is a sedentary bird. It makes nests in buildings and hollows. The house sparrow breeds 2 or even 3 times a year; a clutch usually contains 5-6 eggs. Incubation is thirteen to fourteen days; The chicks fly out at the age of 17 days. The house sparrow is an omnivorous bird that causes harm to agriculture by damaging crops, but also benefits by destroying harmful larvae.
The urban house sparrow has a close relative - the field sparrow, which, unlike its brother, has black spots on white sides and a white collar. He is quicker, and his chirping is not so loud.
The field one is slightly smaller than the brownie one.
Males and females are colored the same, the head is dull brown. It lives throughout almost the entire country (except for the far north). The lifestyle is similar to that of the house sparrow, but the tree sparrow is less associated with human settlements, which is where the name of the species comes from.”
There are many fairy tales, stories, and sayings about nimble little sparrows. "An old bird is not caught with chaff!" - they said in the old days. Or: “Sparrows bathing in dust means rain!” etc.
The very name “sparrow” apparently arose from the words “Beat the thief!” This is what Russian peasants called sparrows that pecked ripened grain in the fields.
Sparrows, unlike many birds, remain to winter where they were born
and lived. They settle in a secluded place, somewhere under the roofs of houses, in the hollows of old trees. The nests are made simple, not distinguished by either beauty or comfort.
Sometimes they climb into wooden birdhouses and swallows’ nests. And they feel like masters of them. The invader, a sparrow, leans out of the birdhouse and chirps loudly: “Alive!”, “Alive!”
It can be difficult to expel a sparrow from an occupied home. It's not an easy task to catch him.
Sparrows are careful and intelligent birds. That's why they rarely fall into the clutches of cats. They are distinguished by great cleanliness. They love to swim in puddles, spraying themselves with splashes of water. They carefully care for their offspring, to whom they are very attached. They feed on harmful insects, thereby benefiting agriculture.
In the book “Animal Life” I read that house sparrows love to bathe in dust or sand. They feed on seeds, berries, and insects, which are usually used to feed the chicks. Sparrows bring not only harm, but also benefit by destroying harmful insects, especially in cities where there are few other insectivorous birds.
In gardens they collect insects, thereby bringing benefits, but in gardens they attack fruit trees, especially cherries. In the southern regions they damage grain crops. And yet, the benefits brought by sparrows are more significant than the harm they cause. This was quickly felt in China, when tree sparrows were exterminated there during a massive campaign throughout the country. The sparrows died. And what? Soon the number of harmful insects, which were previously eaten by sparrows, increased; the tree sparrow does not settle in cities because there are not enough insects here.
Sparrows are carriers of various pests and some diseases. They carry on their plumage from one elevator to another dangerous grain pests - granary mites, and spread smallpox, night blindness, diphtheria and some other diseases of poultry.
In this encyclopedia, I learned that there are stone sparrows. Stone ones live in the mountains of Asia Minor. 2 This sparrow feeds on insects and berries. If there are fields nearby, it feeds and can then cause significant damage. This is a migratory bird. Winters in Arabia and Africa.
The stone sparrow is not inferior in size to the house sparrow. The coloring of males and females is almost the same. The general tone is grayish-brown. There are brown spots all over the body; on the chest there is a large, up to 1 centimeter in diameter, lemon-yellow spot. In males it is brighter, in females it is smaller and dimmer. At the ends of the tail feathers, white spots form a stripe. There are light and dark stripes above the eyes. The beak is light gray, the legs are brown. It builds nests in crevices and cracks of rocks, in scree of stones. It also uses human buildings for nesting. Only rock sparrows use fluttering flight.
Rock sparrows nest in colonies, sometimes quite large - up to 100 pairs. The nests are large, spherical, made of roots and plant stems on the outside, and moss, feathers and wool on the inside. The clutch contains 4-7, usually 5-6 eggs, white or greenish-white with brownish-brown spots. There may be 1-2 broods of chicks per season. In winter, sparrows lead a nomadic lifestyle.
Stone sparrows tolerate captivity well. At the Moscow Zoo, 3 birds of this species were kept for several years in enclosures together with other species. The food is a grain mixture for granivorous birds, soft and green food. During the nesting period, sparrows willingly occupy houses such as birdhouses.
All species of sparrows provide great benefits and should therefore be protected rather than persecuted.
Sparrow behavior towards its fellows
A sparrow's home is its nest. The house sparrow builds it under the roofs of houses and occupies the swallow's nest. Use dry grass, moss, feathers. They actively defend their nest. The singing of sparrows is a signal to their fellows that this nest is already occupied. It is usually the male who sings. He sets up a nest.
I watched the sparrows. They fly in flocks. But when these flocks flock together, they begin to chirp loudly. They behave peacefully with other birds. They don't fight. This means that the sparrow is a friendly bird.
Birds feed on plant seeds, grain crops, fruit tree buds and cereal pests. The sparrow is sometimes called a quarrelsome, quarrelsome bully, a greedy person. Has anyone ever seen a sparrow peck food alone? After all, no matter how hungry
11 was the poor fellow, as soon as he sees a handful of crumbs or a scattering of grain, he first of all emits the calling “chiv., chiv.”, which serves as an invitation to dinner for all the surrounding brothers. And while eating in a flock of sparrows there are much fewer fights and discords than, say, among pigeons.
Behavior of birds in case of danger
In 2nd grade we read I. Turgenev’s story “Sparrow”. It talks about how the author was returning from hunting and walking along the alley of the garden. There was a dog with him. Suddenly she slowed down her steps. The young sparrow fell from the nest and sat motionless. The dog was approaching him. Suddenly the old sparrow fell like a stone in front of her face. He rushed to the rescue. He shielded his chick with himself. The dog stopped and backed away.
What force threw the old sparrow from the branch?
The power of loving your chick. Risking her life, the little bird performed a heroic act to save her offspring.
So it is in life. Sparrows are caring parents. If danger arises (the appearance of cats, dogs, etc.), they begin to chirp loudly and thereby warn of danger.
Behavior of sparrows towards people
How do sparrows behave towards people? To answer this question, I conducted the following experiment. Dad made me a feeder. Mom and I hung it on a tree near my window. I poured grains. In the morning I was awakened by the trill of a sparrow. The whole feeder was empty. I poured the grains again. Sparrows sat on branches and wires and looked at me. Nobody wanted to fly up. But as soon as I walked away, a noisy gang rushed to the feeding trough. I came closer. The birds didn't fly away. They pecked grain. But when I extended my hand to them, they fluttered up sharply. This went on for a whole week. More and more sparrows flew to the feeder. I poured grain, the birds pecked, looking at me, but as soon as I came closer, they flew away.
I realized that sparrows are very shy and cautious birds. They accept help from people, but do not let them get close to themselves.
Sparrow behavior depending on the time of year
Does a sparrow's behavior change depending on the time of year? Teacher Shatova V.I. told me about this.
Here is her story.
In winter, sparrows are silent and rarely speak. In the morning they feed, then bask somewhere in a warm place, then feed again, and before dusk they hurry to their warm nests for the night. And if someone takes someone else's place, fights break out with chirps and squeaks. If, before sunset, several dozen sparrows, gathered on a tree, chirp vigorously, then according to folk signs, frost is approaching.
As soon as the morning sun appears, cheerful sparrows occupy roofs, trees in parks, on boulevards, jump in puddles and chirp loudly.
In winter they hid from the frost, but spring came - they couldn’t be stopped. Just know, they are tweeting, enjoying the warmth.
In summer, on sunny days, they chase dragonflies and butterflies. While guarding the nest, the male often enters into fights with other sparrows flying by. After 10 - 11 days, the chicks fly out of the nest, leave the parental home and gather in yard flocks. Under the supervision of 2-3 “old men,” they feed on young grass, rest on fences, and spend the night in dense trees on the outskirts of a city or village, where there are thickets of nettles, wormwood, and quinoa. There is no other bird that makes as much noise as the sparrow. They scream, quarrel, bawler over every trifle - it’s impossible for the sparrows to do without this.
From her story, I concluded that the behavior of sparrows changes depending on the time of year. This is due to changes in air temperature, the search for food, and weather conditions (rain, hail, wind, snow, blizzard, etc.)
Conclusion
In the course of this study, a literature review, an analysis of I. Turgenev’s story “Sparrow”, an experiment were carried out, the characteristics of the behavior of sparrows were identified, and the characteristics of sparrow breeds were determined.
Based on the results of this study, it has been proven that the sparrow is a sedentary bird. The house sparrow is common in our area.
Sparrows are very shy and cautious birds. They accept help from people, but do not let them get close to themselves. The behavior of sparrows changes depending on the time of year. This is due to change
16 air temperatures, with the search for food, with weather conditions (rain, hail, wind, snow, blizzard, etc.)
Sparrows are caring parents. If danger arises (the appearance of cats, dogs, etc.), they begin to chirp loudly and thereby warn of danger.
Thus, the hypothesis put forward that the sparrow is not a migratory bird and its behavior at different times of the year should not change in relation to its fellows, to people, in the event of danger, was not confirmed.
The result of the work using the modeling method to create the image of a sparrow was a drawing, origami, modeling from plasticine, photographs (appendix).
In our regions sparrow considered one of the most common birds. People are so accustomed to these birds that sometimes they don’t even notice their presence. Sparrows are everywhere - on the roofs of houses, on wires and simply hovering in the air.
They belong to the passerine family. It may seem only at first glance that sparrow bird stupid and insignificant in anything. In fact, this is quite an interesting and gifted bird. From observations, these permanent neighbors of people have excellent memory, obstinate, cocky and sociable disposition.
With the appearance of these smart, daring and courageous birds, we associate the approach of spring. They are one of the very first birds to hurry to tell us with their sonorous chirping, jumping across newly thawed puddles, that winter is finally over.
In fact sparrow's voice so sonorous and joyful that not only the arrival of spring, but also the arrival of spring makes your soul feel incredibly joyful and good. The loud chirping of a sparrow is an enthusiasm that is transmitted to everything around.
Description and features
Their incomparable appearance and chirping help to recognize these amazing birds. Initially, their plumage may appear to be gray. Looking closely, you can see brown shades with black splashes on top of the feathered bird. The head, area near the ears, and abdomen of the bird are painted light gray.
The bird has a fairly powerful beak and a short tail. Birds of small size. The average length of their body reaches up to 15 cm. And sparrows weigh no more than 35 g. The wingspan reaches up to 26 cm.
There are noticeable differences between males and females. The very first of them is that males are always larger than females. The male has a clearly visible black spot. It is located in front on the chin and breasts.
The head of the bird is much darker than that of the female. She also lacks a black spot. Her chest and top of her head are painted light gray. And the eyes are decorated with a barely noticeable gray-yellow rim. The birds stand on short limbs with weak claws. Their wings are short.
The most basic feature of sparrows is that they are in close contact with people everywhere. You can meet them both in populous cities and in modest, almost deserted villages and fields. On ships, these travelers find themselves in places where they have never been before and remain there for permanent residence.
In essence, this is a sedentary bird that almost never leaves its familiar territory. Sparrows can rarely cross the line of this area, and then only in order to scout out what is happening beyond it.
Currently, large flocks of sparrows are observed, which live, despite their massive concentrations, in excellent proximity to people, birds and animals.
But sparrows do not establish trusting and peaceful relationships with all birds. These robbers can sometimes completely drive tits and swifts out of areas. Small birds sometimes cannot withstand the strong pressure of the impudent little ones and give up their territory to them.
Sparrows have excellent memory. They can connect everything connected with a person into a logical chain. They are afraid of cats, but they can, at their own peril and risk, tease her at her own feeding trough. The same picture can be observed in relation to horses.
Sparrows are not at all afraid of rabbits and chickens. They freely sneak into their territory and share a meal with them. Sparrows are not afraid of people. But they are precisely those birds that are very difficult to tame, so sparrow photo and a person is a real rarity. True, there are isolated cases of people becoming friends with these birds, but this really happens very rarely.
Character and lifestyle of a sparrow
These sedentary birds prefer to nest in one place. Their offspring remain with their parents after growing up, so these birds form very large flocks. A pair of birds find one for life.
For their nests, sparrows choose a variety of places where they can be placed. The nest of this bird can be seen on the eaves of a balcony, birdhouse, in empty wooden and brick buildings, among pipes and even heaps of garbage.
The character of these birds is distinguished by its nastiness. They fiercely and jealously guard their possessions. They boldly fight for their territory and survive birds that are even larger in size. In addition, they show their temper not only towards strangers. They can bully their relatives with or without reason.
Silence and silence are absolutely not characteristic of these birds. The slightest movement near them causes a very violent reaction, which is accompanied by noisy sounds.
In spring, when pairs form between birds, it becomes especially noisy and “hot”. Males fight for primacy among themselves not only on trees and rooftops, but also high in the sky.
There are no bloody consequences after this. The rivals scatter in different directions, but some time passes and they fight again.
Habitat
There are about 35 species of sparrows in nature. Each of them has its own external distinctive features and habitat. You can meet these birds everywhere, except for cold continents, where life is practically absent.
Birds are not picky about anything. They follow a person wherever they go. They easily found refuge in Australia and developed the territory of the tundra and forest-tundra. Places where, to put it mildly, life does not seem like a fairy tale to everyone. There are very few places left that are not inhabited by these birds.
Types of sparrows
It has already been mentioned that in nature there are about 30 species of sparrows. Each of them is characterized by a certain characteristic and habitat area. Some of them are worth considering.
House Sparrow occurs most often. The length of its body does not exceed 16 cm. Its entire back is decorated with rust-colored plumage with black splashes. Gray colors are visible on the abdomen, the cheeks of the bird are painted white.
House Sparrow
The wings of the bird are yellow with white stripes, and black feathers are visible on the neck. Courage, cunning and importunity are inherent in these birds. You can meet them in the open spaces from Siberia to Portugal.
For a long time they have been found in Australia and on the American continent. House sparrows can damage agriculture, fruit trees and vineyards. But they also provide great benefits in the form of the destruction of harmful insects.
tree sparrow
tree sparrow It is smaller in size than the brownie. It has a red-gray nape and parietal area, black cheeks and several stripes across its wings. They prefer to live not in populated areas, but in the fields. In winter they can move closer to human habitation. Europe and Central Asia are the habitats of tree sparrows.
Stone sparrow prefers rocky terrain in Southern Europe. They are gray-brown in color with a yellow stripe near the eyes and a yellow spot in the throat area.
Stone sparrow
They take a large part in the destruction of insect pests. Stone sparrows are most often found near us. They are the ones who warn us about the coming of spring.
Snow sparrow lives in the South-East of Altai and the Caucasus. It is a very beautiful bird with black and white wings and a tail edged with white and a black patch on the throat. The snow sparrow makes sounds that cannot be compared with anything else.
Snow sparrow
Camel sparrow bird in fact, it is not a sparrow at all. This name was given to the ostrich, which, apart from the name consonant with the sparrow, has nothing in common.
Nutrition
Sparrows eat everything in the literal sense of the word. They don't have any special preferences. They eat insects, grain, crumbs, human food waste. These birds are not particularly modest. They can sit and brazenly look into the mouth of a person who is eating at a table in an outdoor cafe.
If you remain motionless in this case for some time, the bird can safely climb onto the table and grab what attracted its attention. The slightest movement causes the bird to flee. Birds do not have greed for food. The whole flock flocks to the tasty morsel, after which the feast begins.
Unfamiliar food is tried with great caution. Summer time is especially good for country sparrows. In the village they simply have a huge abundance of food. Moreover, the scarecrows built by people in the garden to scare away birds are absolutely not scary for sparrows.
In addition to this food, sparrows also feed on caterpillars and other harmful insects, which in large quantities can cause irreparable harm to the national economy.
Reproduction and lifespan
At the end of winter, the songs of sparrows are heard and some of their fuss is noticeable. This indicates that their mating season is approaching. Fights between rivals can very rarely be avoided. As a result, a couple is formed for life, which by the end of March is building its own family nest.
In April, the female lays eggs. There are usually no more than 8 of them in a nest. The male and female will need about two weeks to hatch them. And they do this together.
Parents also feed insects and take care of their newborn babies together. From such care, the chicks quickly become winged. This happens in early June. At this time, parents begin to make a second clutch. If living conditions are appropriate, they may have about three such clutches.
They do not live long, about 5 years. But among the sparrows there were also long-livers who lived twice as long. The short lifespan of these birds occurs due to the severity of winters in some places.
Every day, walking along the streets of the city in the warm or cold season, we constantly see our small neighbors - birds. During the cold season, many birds fly south, while others that can withstand low temperatures remain with us. One of these representatives will be discussed further.
Home sparrow. External description:
- The body length of this small bird is only up to 17 cm.
- Has an oval and strong physique.
- The tail is about 5–6 cm long.
- Males are usually larger than females.
- Males have much brighter and richer feather colors than their female counterparts.
- The paws are flesh-colored or light orange.
Lifestyle:
Sparrows are accustomed to living next to a person and are not going to spend their lives without him. These little ones do not like loneliness, so they live either in pairs or in colonies. They feel confident around a person, but do not trust them completely and are cautious. Due to the structure of its legs, the house sparrow is unable to move using steps, but only by jumping.
Prefer day lifestyle, are often located where they can get some food from a person. For overnight shelter, the bird uses branches of bushes or trees, and if there are eggs that need to be hatched or chicks that need care, they spend the night in the nest. Flight speed can reach up to 45 km/h. He is not afraid of water, but on the contrary, he swims well and can even dive.
What does a sparrow eat:
Like most other urban birds, the brownie consumes protein (bugs, worms), plant (berries, tree fruits) and grain products.
Diet:
Features of behavior:
This bird is very jealous of its territory. You can often see that sparrows get into fights for territory not only with their relatives, but also with tits.
Since the sparrow bird lives next door to a person, it can adopt some human habits into its character.
Well developed memory. Able to make simple decisions and build logical chains.
They are not afraid of cats, but they are wary. Other animals, such as horses and dogs, are treated with indifference.
They can live next to rabbits and chickens, because they know that they do not pose a danger, but you can always enjoy their food.
The bird is practically resistant to human attempts tame her. And it’s much more difficult to catch than any other bird.
Despite the fact that sparrows often start fights that can last for quite a long time, it does not result in wounds or blood. They are smart for this, and therefore after a fight the birds fly away, but not for long. As soon as strength appears, we go back into battle.
Such small birds, and the question is asked: “How many years do sparrows live?” - They can live on average up to 5 years, but sometimes there were birds whose age was about 11 years.
Sparrows in the north are different from sparrows in the south. The northern ones have a smaller beak, and they are capable break apart seed of almost any hardness.
There is a belief that the house sparrow is able to predict the weather a day in advance.
Reproduction of sparrows:
In the spring, when the mating season begins, the female and the male form a pair that searches for an abandoned nest. If one is not found, then they begin to build their nest. Everything is used as building materials - twigs, fluff, feathers, hair, blades of grass, hay, various ropes. They build nests either under the roofs of houses or in trees.
For the whole marriage period, the female can lay eggs three times. But it also depends on the climate and weather conditions. She can lay from 3 to 9 eggs at a time. The first clutch occurs in April. In August the nesting period ends, so molting begins. Observations have shown that rural sparrows almost always have a larger clutch of eggs than their “urban” neighbors.
When sparrow chicks hatch, care for the young is divided equally between the parents. The female incubates the chicks for about 4–5 days, and the parents feed them for the remaining two weeks. The sparrows spend the next 14 days raising their chicks, after which they can prepare for a new laying of eggs. The chick flies out of the nest approximately 2 weeks after hatching.
Sparrow chicks are born naked without feathers and blind. The skin color is usually gray and the beak is yellow or orange. Feeding the chicks begins with protein foods, and later they switch to grain, and then you can feed them berries and plant fruits.
Home sparrow - friend or enemy of man?
Despite the fact that they settle close to humans, they are not capable of causing harm. In agricultural conditions, the sparrow only helps its human neighbor. The baby eats and destroys harmful insects. Therefore, even if he eats a couple of extra berries, I think it’s not a big deal. How many of your plants has it saved the life of?
We need to protect and value our little brothers. Who, if not a person, can save their little lives or at least help them survive the winter? We are responsible for them. There is no need to exterminate these little birds because you think they are eating your crops. Observe the behavior of sparrows and you will understand everything.
In almost every courtyard of Russian cities you can find flocks of small cheerfully chirping sparrows. They also live near villages and hamlets, and often fly into farmsteads to feed. What these two species of birds have in common is that they all settle near human habitation. But few people know that the familiar pichuga, the size of a small palm, comes from North Africa.
A small bird of brownish-brown plumage with gray, white, and black splashes gave its name to a numerous species of passerines. It includes small birds - finches, goldfinches, singing nightingales, brightly colored orioles, a tiny wren (weighing up to 10 grams), and subspecies that do not look like sparrows - black crows, chirping magpies, jackdaws. The exotic lyrebird is an Australian bird, considered a symbol and national treasure of the country because of the beautiful long tail of the males, also a passerine species. This species includes birds of paradise with unusually beautiful colors, tropical inhabitants of the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea. There are only about 5,000 subspecies of passerines.
Physiological characteristics
The small weight and size of the sparrow determine certain physiological and behavioral characteristics. Due to the short tail and wingspan, the bird can fly for up to a quarter of an hour. The Chinese took advantage of this feature to combat sparrows in 1958, during the time of Mao. They figured that the large bird population was eating a lot of rice and grains. A mass movement against birds began. Using various kinds of noise effects, they were prevented from landing for 15 minutes, and the birds died. The harvest actually grew in the first year, but in the second year it was almost destroyed by locusts and caterpillars that the sparrows fed on, which led to famine and millions of deaths among the Chinese.
Physiological characteristics of sparrows:
- weight - up to 25 grams;
- bird length - 16-18 cm;
- average body temperature - 44 ⁰С;
- pulse reaches 860 beats per minute;
- accelerated metabolism (food is digested and excreted in the form of droppings in an average of 15 minutes);
- plumage has up to 1300 feathers;
- Life expectancy under normal natural conditions is on average up to two years.
The bird's high heart rate (14 times that of a human) gave rise to the saying "trembling like a sparrow."
Kinds
Sparrows make up a large population, estimated at up to a billion individuals. In total, ornithologists identify 22 species. The most common subspecies are urban and brown.
Brownie
From the name it is clear that these birds live next to a person, his home. Everyone is familiar with the plumage of a sparrow: light gray breast and abdomen, brown back, wings with longitudinal stripes. These birds have adapted to life in urban areas. They live in flocks and nest in pairs. In winter, they hide from the cold under the roofs of sheds, houses, and garages. Often they build nests there. Birdhouses, pipes, nests of other birds, tree hollows, and swallow holes are suitable for these purposes. At the same time, they serve as shelter for them in cold weather. The house sparrow is not picky about its diet; the main thing for it is to survive the winter (many individuals die). The population is saved by a good birth rate - three clutches in the spring and summer seasons (up to 7 eggs are laid at a time).
The house sparrow has become an integral part of the urban landscape, as have pigeons. It also has significant benefits. In the spring and summer, sparrows mainly feed on insect pests, thereby saving parks and gardens.
Birds of different sexes differ in plumage color. The male has a black spot on the light chest with a transition to the chin, throat, and crop area. On top of the head the color of his plumage is gray. In the female, this area is also gray, like the breast. A gray-yellow stripe stands out in the superciliary part.
Field
Unlike the house sparrow, it can be considered a wilder relative. They live on the outskirts of towns, villages, dachas, in bush thickets, near fields. They live in a permanent place or wander in search of food. They often fly into the backyard to feed on leftover food from domestic animals.
The two types of birds also differ in appearance. The tree sparrow is smaller in size (up to 14 cm). Although the color of the plumage is similar, the field bird is distinguished by the chestnut color of the head and back of the head. It has brown wings with two white stripes. The black spot on the chest of males in the form of a small tie is smaller in size than that of its brownie counterpart. The difference in plumage color in different-sex individuals is not so pronounced; only the intensity of the color differs.
The country sparrow destroys a huge number of insect pests, but during the ripening period the crop flies to gardens and fields. It is for this reason that they try to scare him away by setting up scarecrows and noise traps.
The beginning of the mating season, the construction of the nest, which lasts up to a month, depends on the climatic conditions of the region where it lives.
Habitat and lifestyle
These birds live on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica and the Arctic. Although sparrows lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not fly to warmer regions, they migrate in search of new places for food. They often follow in the footsteps of humans to new cities, settlements, and newly plowed lands. The migration routes of sparrows in Russia reached Karelia, the Murmansk region and even certain regions of Yakutia.
In terms of behavior, this bird is noisy, constantly moving, and its chirping can be heard. Sparrows have a somewhat quarrelsome character and often engage in small fights for food during the mating period. At the same time, the sparrow, which was the first to find food, gives a signal to the others. In case of danger, the flock has a guard.
Birds clean their plumage of pests by “bathing” in the sand. They don't look very clean after this, but this method is quite effective.
Sparrows are good swimmers and during periods of danger threatening them they can hide from the enemy through the water.
Short legs literally do not allow the bird to “run away”, so they move on a hard surface by jumping.
Ornithologists previously claimed that sparrows form permanent pairs. Recent research by geneticists refutes this claim. In cubs of the same clutch, there are isolated cases when only the genome of their parents is detected.
Nutrition
The smaller the bird, the faster its metabolism. The sparrow is in constant motion and searching for food. He dies within two days without food. The main thing that helps a bird out is its omnivorous nature.
What do sparrows eat? Their diet is varied:
- protein food: small insects, caterpillars;
- cereals, grass seeds;
- grass, vegetables, berries, fruits.
- pieces of meat, lard;
- food waste;
- bread crumbs.
Despite the fact that the sparrow cannot be called a “gourmet,” such indiscriminate eating ensures the population’s survival in the wild.
Reproduction and lifespan
Experts differ on the question of how many years sparrows live. In nature, under favorable conditions, their life expectancy varies from one to two years, but in captivity they can live much longer - up to 9 years, cases of 11 years have been recorded. The duration depends on the food supply and seasonal weather conditions.
With the onset of spring, most sparrows begin the period of mating and nest building. House sparrows begin to breed earlier than everyone else, since in cities the temperature is several degrees higher.
Country and house sparrows make nests in various cavities: hollows, crevices, voids, stumps, under the roofs of buildings, in trees. Several dozen pairs can form a small colony. Nests are made from blades of grass, straws, and feathers. The inside is lined with softer material. During the season, a pair lays and hatches up to three clutches (in the southern regions).
In the temperate climate of Russia, these birds begin mating in early March. They are accompanied by cocky fights of males and loud chirping. After the couples have decided on a partner, they begin building a nest together.
The female incubates eggs for an average of two weeks, ranging from 4 to 7-10 eggs. Sparrow chicks are born naked and helpless. When they begin to hatch, they immediately begin to breathe. Their beak is yellow, with the same rim around it. The chicks are voracious, and the parents are constantly in search of food. They are fed mainly with protein foods: worms, insects, larvae, ant eggs. This diet allows the chicks to grow quickly and fledge, so on the 10-14th day they are ready to leave their nests. Competition for living space and food begins already in the nest. Yellowthroats do not stand on ceremony with weak brothers - they often push them out of the nest.
Natural enemies
In urban conditions, the main danger to the sparrow comes from cats, especially those that live on the street. They are attacked from above by hawks and sparrowhawks. They vigilantly look out for the victim and quickly attack.
Wild village sparrows living on the outskirts of villages, in sparse forests, and bushes should be wary of night owls. They destroy nests and hunt fox chicks. The marten is dangerous; it climbs trees well. Even such seemingly harmless animals as a hedgehog, a ferret, and a squirrel are also not averse to feasting on sparrow eggs.
The sparrow, which is familiar to us, causes relative harm by eating the crop. But the benefits from them are significant; one pair of birds destroys up to 3 kg of pests per month. The main thing is to maintain a balance in the natural habitat, between population size and food supply.
