My intrigue for the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) was born, err… hatched from sheer opportunity. Several years back, I repurposed a cheap guitar that was missing a few strings and hung it up under our covered deck to serve as a decorative accent. Ella broke out her paints and created a nice, folky design that flowed well with the rest of the décor on our deck. As it would turn out, the missing B and G strings allotted for just enough clearance for a mated pair of adult sparrows to limbo their way through its small, 1” opening. All things considered, I can’t say that I blame them for picking this spot!
Also out of happenstance, the guitar was hung just outside our kitchen window. The hours spent washing dishes and prepping meals, afforded us the luxury of having a front row seat as the pair began constructing their nest within the guitar’s sound hole in early February. Tirelessly the male would fly off, scouring the neighborhood, in search of nesting materials to bring back and hand off to his maiden whom would remain perched on the guitar’s neck, patiently awaiting his return.
Well, it wasn’t soon thereafter that we were greeted with the constant chirping of their first brood whom fledged the nest, ahem… guitar, roughly 2 weeks later. Well, that was cute now, wasn’t it? Kudos to the ‘rents! Great job guys!!
But immediately he was back at it. Gathering nesting materials, bringing them back to the female who now, instead of being perched on the guitar’s neck, spent her days dragging debris and grasses from the sound hole and flying off with it. I also noticed that this time the male, who was now arriving at times when the female was away from the nest, would take the nesting materials inside and fly out a short time later empty handed. It would seem that he too was now playing a role in nest construction. A few weeks later, chirping. A few weeks later, fuzzy headed young perched all over the rails of our deck being taught the curriculum of what it takes to be a proper bird. Again… so cute. What an experience. Nature, I see you!
Then, more nesting material was being gathered. You see where this is going? Wash, rinse, repeat. What began in early spring, greeted May, and was now steamrolling its way through early summer. We were well on our way to amassing a small army of LBJ’s (Little Brown Jobs as sparrows are often referred to) on the deck of our suburban/rural-ish home.
This behavior, this fecundity, is what has accounted for the House sparrow’s, an “invasive” species, exemplary success in setting up permanent residency here and just about every other continent on the globe! It should be stated that this original family of sparrows has went on to remain with this guitar every year for the past 5 years. The typical lifespan of House sparrows in the wild is 4 - 5 years, so I am optimistic that being monogamous and mating for life, the same OG’s are still roaming the wilds of my back yard today! One would think that the unorthodox location of the guitar, the constant foot traffic it receives from large dogs and humans, all would be a deterrent, but as history has told us with this species, it is the primary reason for its success.
On August 21st, 1886 a short time after the House sparrow was introduced into the United States, Dr. W.H. Bergtold, of Buffalo, N.Y. observed:
As regards the number of broods and young reared by a pair of Sparrows in a year, I wish to make a statement and put forth a theory that I have never seen advanced before. I have repeatedly examined nests of this bird containing nearly full-fledged young, two or three young in more or less advanced stages of development, and several eggs of various degrees of incubation, some being nearly fresh, while others were about to break through. I gather from these facts that the Sparrow, at least in some cases, lays and continues to lay a succession of eggs so long as the weather is not too cold; and as the young attain a sufficient amount of strength they are expelled from the nest. Assuming such to be the case we can easily see how much of the incubation work is taken from the parents and thrown on the young, who by their bodily heat and proximity, readily take up such duties (quite unintentionally, I imagine), and also how much work can be given to the proper maintenance of a generous food supply for both the old and young.
This constant stream of outpouring Sparrows accounts for the rapid manner in which this species multiplies.
Albeit an astute observation by Dr. Bergtold, the House sparrow was new to science at the time and not a lot was known about it. Although such cases as witnessed by Dr. Bergtold may occur, it certainly is not the rule, as it is certain that in most cases all the eggs are laid before any are hatched, and all the young leave the nest at about the same time as I have witnessed myself on multiple occasions.
Moreover, it is not necessary to resort to such a theory to account for the rapidity with which the sparrow increases. It is a hardy, prolific, and aggressive little bird, possessed of much intelligence and more then ordinary cunning. It is domestic and gregarious in habit and takes advantage of the protection afforded by its proximity to man, thus escaping nearly all enemies which typically prey upon our native birds.
Its fecundity is amazing, and is reflected in the table I have created below. Of course, the actual increase of the House sparrow is a small fraction of the total shown in the table. But, if we were to reduce the number of young produced per pair to just six annually, assuming that half are male and half are female, factor a lifespan of five years for all, then we would expect to see an increase of 33,614 birds from the first mated pair during this five-year period. There has; however, been a twist in recent years. Duh, duh, duhhhh…
Despite thriving during the hundred plus years since introduction into the rest of the world, House sparrows have begun declining rapidly in parts of North America, Australia, and their native Europe where they are now red listed as a species of high conservation concern. Across the whole of the United Kingdom and much of Northwestern Europe, sparrow populations have declined by more than 60 percent from the early 1970s to the late 1990s. Some of the reasons cited are loss of nesting habitat, diminished food items i.e., weed seed and insects, pollution caused by industrial growth, and natural predation. The latter, I would argue is a key influence as I have had evidence of predation strewn through my backyard on countless occasions. Although neighborhood cats permitted to run at will has always been a concern when it comes to our native bird species, local hawk populations have skyrocketed in recent years and can now be seen in almost any city/town, at any time of the day, perched prominently on a power line or radio tower, scouting its next meal.
Yes, I will agree that the males will sometimes “flex” too hard and too often when trying to defend their territory. They also sing incessantly during springtime when trying to garner the attention of a mate. I have even felt the hit in the wallet as the little army of sparrows I quickly amass in my yard consumes way more than their fair share of bird seed. Despite all of this, I have grown rather fond of these bold little birds and their willingness to share their social dynamic with me.
Most of us live hectic lives that don’t allocate as much time as we would like to spend outdoors in nature. Given the chance, the House sparrow will provide a front row seat to the natural world that is always present right outside your window. All we have to do is sit back and take it in!
