The house sparrow is the most common bird species that lives next to humans. It can be easily recognized by outward signs and sound. The average body length in an adult is 16 cm, weight up to 40 g.
The sparrow feeds on flower buds, berries, cereals, seeds of wild herbs and crops, human food residues, and sometimes insects. Easily takes root in any weather conditions, in the presence of a sufficient amount of food. Following man, the bird settled on all inhabited continents.
family nest
Most sparrows are monogamous. Having chosen a couple, they live together all their lives. The male selects a place for nesting - it can be a gap in a human building, the wall of a nest of a large bird, an abandoned nest or a hole. Then he starts to call the female. She covers everything possible options and chooses the best for himself, subsequently erects walls from the material obtained by the sparrow.
Order in the house
diet
Despite the fact that adults eat plant foods, they feed their chicks with insects. This is due to the fact that babies need a lot of protein in order to gain mass and grow up. In just a week of life, the weight of the chick increases 6 times.
Offspring
Sparrows make two to three clutches per year, on average 5 eggs. Incubation lasts up to 14 days. Chicks hatch helpless, but after two weeks they grow into independent individuals.
During the period of raising children, sparrows exterminate a large number of pests, which is an undeniable benefit, since there are few birds that feed on insects in cities. In some countries, monuments to sparrows have been erected as a token of gratitude. The first monument was erected in Boston in the middle of the 19th century, after a bird brought from Europe to fight caterpillars saved crops in fields and gardens.
but on the other hand
Most species of sparrow lead sedentary lifestyle. This is facilitated by a sufficient amount of food near human activities. However, from the most remote parts of the north, the bird migrates to warmer climes. Flying from place to place, the sparrow can become a carrier of certain diseases, such as diphtheria and smallpox. In 2004, when bird flu was detected in China, an examination was carried out in 38 individuals, among which the virus was found.
Also, the sparrow can cause significant damage to crops and berries. And yet, the benefit of the sparrow is superior to the loss. The destruction of a sparrow is always accompanied by the reproduction of insect pests.
Un Certain Regard
The vision of a sparrow is twice as sharp as that of a human. The bird perceives more color differences, in addition, it has sensitivity to the ultraviolet range and looks at the world in pink colors. And here Blue colour the sparrow acts intimidatingly.
hot guys
Sparrow's heart beats with frequency 650 - 860 beats per minute. During the same period of time, he inhales and exhales 100 times, but in frosts his breathing quickens three times. At the bird heat body - 44 degrees and a fast metabolism, so if there is no food for 24 hours, it dies.
Speed
Sparrow flies with speed 35km/h. In order to develop such a speed, he has to make 13 strokes per second, which is very difficult. Therefore, the flight lasts no more than 15 minutes, after which the bird needs rest.
Lifespan
The average lifespan of a sparrow is 2 – 3 years, while many young birds die in the first winter from cold and hunger. However, in captivity, good conditions, a bird can live 10 - 11 years. There are cases when sparrows lived up to 15 years.
Immediate relatives
The history of the passerine order goes back to the distant Miocene epoch. At the moment, they live everywhere, the only exceptions are Antarctica and some oceanic islands.
On the territory of the post-Soviet space lives about 310 species, in total there are more than 5,000 species in the world, 84 of which and 66 subspecies are listed in the Red Book and are under threat of extinction. The smallest representative is the songbird kinglet, whose adult body length is from 9.5 cm. The largest is the raven, which reaches up to 65 cm.
Ecology indicator
The house sparrow perfectly reflects the level of ecology of the area. This is due to the fact that the bird feeds on waste products of human food, plant foods and water from the same sources. Chemicals used to speed up the growth of cereals cause disease in birds.
Cutting down trees in cities leads to the disappearance of insects that are necessary for raising chicks. In some developed countries, the population of the house sparrow is on the verge of extinction.
Here's a present!
On the occasion of the 80th birthday of North Korean President Kim Il Sung, his son Kim Jong Il has prepared an exclusive gift - a sparrow feather blanket. In order for the gift to have extraordinary softness, only neck feathers were selected for its tailoring. For almost half a year, the population of the republic caught birds, the number of which reached 700 thousand. The result of such an extermination was the invasion of caterpillars of the same year, 1992.
Sparrow is mentioned in fiction, historical and even biblical literature! This small bird can be seen on the canvases of artists of various times. Writers and directors endow their characters with his character and nickname.
In Russian folklore, a sparrow is the prototype of a cunning, stubborn, courageous and thieving person. And the yellow-mouth (a young individual of this family) is popularly called an inexperienced and naive simpleton.
Sparrows are common birds in our latitudes. They live settled in one place, wintering without flights. It would seem that everything is already known about them.
But there are a number of facts that many are not even aware of. Among them:
Friend of human
The sparrow is the most famous bird that lives near human habitation. In the Russian Federation, only two species can be found: namely, the house sparrow, which is also a city sparrow and a field sparrow, which is popularly a village sparrow.
The sparrow, being a cohabitant of man, settled throughout the earth, it can be found in rural and urban areas, even in the settlements of Central Asia and the Far North. But, in Central Asia, a sparrow usually keeps a respectful distance from a person.
Until 1960, there was not a single sparrow in America, later they were brought from England to destroy the caterpillars. Birds are not used for other purposes - sparrow meat is tasteless and hard, so it is very rarely eaten.
miniature bird
Gram, that's how much the weight of an adult is. Although the sparrow is a member of the passerine order, this order includes about 5,000 more bird species in addition to it. The largest bird in the detachment is the raven, whose mass is about 1.5 kilograms; the smallest is the kinglet, weighing only about 10 grams.
Distributed and numerical population
It has been proven that about 1 billion individuals live around the globe. That's about one sparrow for every eight people.
The most widely spread about the origin of the word "sparrow" was the version "thief - beat!" - after all, the bird is inclined to steal and is quite cunning. But in Slavic languages, this word has the same root as the word "coo". This basis of the verb, however, as well as the verb "grumble", could serve as a hitherto not preserved word "work". This bird was nicknamed so for the constant and unceasing chirping.
A striking difference between the sexes
The male differs from the female in a large black spot that covers the crop, throat, chin and upper chest. Another difference is the dark gray top of the head.
Great variability in the life of these birds
The sparrow lives for a rather short period, although there have been cases when sparrows lived up to 9-11 years, but most birds die without surviving the first winter, it follows that average duration their lives are somewhere around 9-21 months.
Surprisingly fast heart rate
At rest, the heart of this feathered bird beats 600-850 times per minute, but already in flight it reaches 1000 times per minute. Therefore, a strong fright can be fatal, this can happen because blood pressure rises. Sparrows have eyes built in such a way that they see the world in a pinkish light. 20. In the neck of a sparrow there are twice as many vertebrae as in a giraffe.
high energy birdies
A sparrow will not be able to starve for a little more than two days, as it spends a lot of energy per day. The body temperature of a sparrow is 44 degrees.
A unique way to move around the earth
Due to short legs, most individuals move on the ground by jumping.
Devotees for the rest of their lives
The sparrow is monogamous - birds that are in a pair are faithful to each other for years. If the sparrow did not have a family since autumn or the female died during the winter, in this case the male is doomed to spend the next season as a bachelor. In this case, he will look for any opportunity to find a single female and persuade her to live together.
But this is not easy, because there are 150 sparrows per hundred sparrows. Moreover, these birds are very prolific, during the summer in the northern regions there are two broods, in the south three. The second time they lay eggs in June - to be precise, in the second half. The chicks hatch in July.
Sparrow lays 4-10 eggs, but most often 5-7 eggs white color, slightly brownish, with red spots and specks, incubation takes 11-13 days.
Chicks, 10 days after birth, fly out for the first time from one nest. Sparrows feed mainly on seeds. They love sunflower, hemp, wheat grains. Sparrows feed their chicks with meat, butterflies, caterpillars. While feeding their brood, parents feed about 1000 different insects.
“Yellowmouths” is the name given to young sparrows with a yellow color located around their beak. Although in conversation the term "yellow mouth" denotes the inexperience, naivety of a young man.
An interesting fact: they even erect monuments to sparrows, although it sounds strange, but not only in Russia. In Boston in the 19th century, a monument was erected to a sparrow for the destruction of insect pests.
But not always monuments were erected to sparrows and treated well for the destruction of pests. In 1958, a company was opened in China, at the initiative of helmsman Mao Zedong. The company was started due to a problem with agricultural pests.
Sparrows were declared the main enemies, since, according to the calculations of the helmsman Mao Zedong, they ate about 20-35 thousand tons of rice grown in the fields per year. The Chinese were given instructions to frighten the birds, as sparrows cannot fly for more than 15 minutes without rest. As a result, sparrows fell to the ground dead. Almost two billion - so much for the year, according to statistics, sparrows were destroyed.
After these actions, the harvest was better, but locusts and caterpillars ate it very much, the number of which was regulated by sparrows. The result was a period of famine that killed about 20 million people. As a result, these birds had to be re-imported from a neighboring country.
Sparrow- it's small birdie family of sparrows. Sparrows are the most famous birds that coexist with humans with great pleasure.
Sparrow Description
The sparrow is recognizable by appearance and for his characteristic chirp. The color of the plumage in the upper part is brown-brown interspersed with black feathers. On the head near the ears and the belly is a light gray shade. Sparrows have a small short tail and a fairly powerful beak. On average, the body length of a sparrow is about 16 cm, the weight is tiny - from 25 to 35 grams, and the wingspan is up to 27 cm.
How to distinguish a male sparrow from a female?
A male sparrow can be distinguished from a female by a characteristic black spot that covers the chin, throat, and upper chest. The head of the male also has a dark grey colour. The female sparrow is smaller in size, the head and throat are gray, and gray-yellow stripes are located above the eyes, very pale, almost imperceptible.
Where do sparrows live?
You can meet sparrows almost everywhere. They massively populate the centers of cities and towns. The habitat is wide, the sparrow is found from Western Europe to the Sea of \u200b\u200bOkhotsk, in East and Central Asia. It is distributed even on the territory of Siberia.
Features of the lifestyle and behavior of sparrows
sparrows lead a settled way of life, having chosen a territory, they nest. The grown offspring remain close to their parents, so the sparrows form large flocks. This is facilitated by the high fertility of the sparrow, the abundance of food due to the proximity of human settlements.
Ornithologists, observing sparrows, found out that these birds create a couple for almost a lifetime. Sparrows have an average lifespan of up to 5 years. But there were specimens of birds, whose age was about 11 years. The short life expectancy of sparrows is due to the fact that young growth often dies in the very first winter.
Sparrows nest almost anywhere where a nest can be placed. These are cornices of balconies, birdhouses, voids of wooden or stone buildings, sometimes pipes and even heaps of garbage. In our area, pairs form by the end of winter. At this time, sparrows (males) are lively, chirping loudly, lekking and even sometimes fighting.
sparrow breeding
A male and female sparrow build a nest together. As a rule, this is a rough structure made of feathers, straw, dry grass, with a small depression in the center. Nest building begins in March, and in April the birds start laying eggs. During the season, the female can lay up to 5 clutches. The clutch usually contains up to 7 white eggs with dark spots. Incubation period incubation of eggs lasts about two weeks. Chicks hatch slightly pubescent, almost naked. Feeding offspring takes approximately 14 to 17 days, both parents feed the chicks mainly with insects.
Approximately on the 10th day, the chicks try to fly. After a couple of days in late May - early June, they leave the nests. By the end of autumn, sparrows come to life again, chirp loudly and look after females.
Nest building begins. There will be no chicks in these nests until spring, and the place prepared in this way in winter will serve as protection for sparrows from autumn rains and winter frosts.
- Everyone knows about the thieving nature of sparrows. There is even a version about the origin of the name of the bird: once a sparrow stole a bun from the tray, and the baker, seeing this, shouted: “Beat the thief!”;
- Another interesting fact about sparrows is that they see the world in pink colors, and cervical region these birds have twice as many vertebrae as a giraffe;
- There are many folk signs associated with the behavior of these urban birds. For example, if sparrow bathed in dust - this is to rain, and if he found a container of water and flounders there - to drought.
For many people, the sparrow resembles the sounds of childhood. Waking up in the morning, the first thing that came to consciousness was the cheerful chirping of a bird. Their song charged the body with energy and the desire to run out into the street as soon as possible - to explore the world. Yes, and having matured, most cannot imagine life without these birds. Without them, it's just boring and dull. The world seems cloudy and poor for these birds.
Nutrition
Sparrow can be found almost everywhere: in cities, villages, in fields and forests. Wherever a person would go, everywhere he can see flocks of these wonderful birds. But the bulk of these birds live side by side with humans. They build nests next to residential buildings. In winter, people, feeling sorry, feed them. The sparrow is not a picky bird in food and does not refuse the grain of the mixture, picks up all the grains that have fallen to the ground, not eaten by other birds. Sparrows also eat seeds on branches, eat weeds left over from autumn. They like to eat viburnum and rowan berries. Understanding people, picking berries in autumn, leave a part on the tree to feed the birds.
sparrow weight
The weight of this pichuga is only 23 - 35 grams. Despite its small size, the bird is quite smart and inquisitive, and also faithful to its soulmate. According to the observations of ornithologists, pairs of sparrows are created for life, so the loss of your beloved for a bird is a real tragedy.
The largest bird in this order is the raven, whose mass is about 1.5 kilograms, the smallest is the kinglet, weighing only about 10 grams.
2.Sparrow is the most famous bird that lives next to human habitation. They have been living next to humans for about 10,000 years.
3. Scientists have established that the birthplace of sparrows is Southeast Asia.
4. Sparrows settled throughout the earth. They can be found even in the settlements of Central Asia and the Far North. But, in Central Asia, a sparrow usually keeps a respectful distance from a person.
5. About 1 billion individuals live around the globe. That's about 1 sparrow for every 8 people.
6. The weight of an adult sparrow is only 25-35 grams, sometimes a little more.
7. It turns out that sparrows, being in the air, cannot fly for more than 15 minutes, they definitely need rest to recuperate.
8. Sparrow is monogamous - birds that are in a pair are faithful to each other for years.
9. If the sparrow did not have a family since autumn or the female died during the winter, in this case the male is doomed to spend the next season as a bachelor.
10. And then he will look for any opportunity to find a single female and persuade her to live together. But this is not easy, because there are 150 sparrows per hundred sparrows.
Male and female house sparrow
11. The male sparrow differs from the female in a large black spot that covers the crop, throat, chin and upper chest. Another difference is the dark gray top of the head.
12. In the neck of a sparrow there are twice as many vertebrae as in a giraffe.
13. Sparrows have eyes built in such a way that they see the world in a pinkish light.
snow sparrow
14. Snow sparrow builds its nests in the mountains at an altitude of up to 5000 meters above sea level.
15. The average life span of a sparrow is about four years, although there are cases when these birds lived for more than ten years.
16. These birds are very prolific, during the summer in the northern regions there are two broods, in the south three. The second time they lay eggs in June - to be precise, in the second half. The chicks hatch in July.
17. Sparrow lays 4-10 eggs, but most often 5-7 eggs are white, slightly brown, with red spots and speckles, incubation takes 11-13 days.
18. Chicks, 10 days after birth, fly out for the first time from one nest.
19. "Yellowmouths" - this is the name of young sparrows with a yellow color located around their beak.
20. Sparrows feed their chicks with meat, butterflies, caterpillars.
21. Feeding their brood, parents feed about 1000 different insects.
22. At rest, the heart of this bird beats 600-850 times per minute, but already in flight it reaches 1000 times per minute.
23. Therefore, a strong fright can be fatal, this can happen because blood pressure rises.
House sparrow, aka city (left) and field sparrow, aka village (right)
24. In Russia, only two of their species can be found: namely, the house sparrow, which is also a city and field sparrow - in the village people.
25. Sparrows can be found in rural and urban areas.
26. Sparrows are flocking birds and leave the flock in the warm season for the breeding season.
27. In winter, in order not to freeze at night, they cling to each other.
28. The body temperature of a sparrow is 44 degrees.
29. Most of these birds die without surviving the first winter.
30. Sparrows build nests next to residential buildings. Nests are built in the crevices of buildings, they especially like to settle under the eaves of houses, also in tree hollows or in birdhouses.
31. Sparrows feed mainly on seeds. They love sunflower, hemp, wheat grains.
32. Because of the short legs, sparrows are forced to move on the ground by jumping.
34. In winter, sparrows often bathe in the snow.
35. Until 1860, there was not a single sparrow in America, later they were brought from England to destroy the caterpillars.
36. The first monument to a sparrow for its fight against pests was erected in the USA, in Boston, in the 19th century. This happened shortly after sparrows were introduced to the US to control caterpillars.
37. The most widely spread about the origin of the word "sparrow" was the version "thief - beat!" - after all, the bird is inclined to steal and is quite cunning.
38. But in Slavic languages this word has the same root as the word "coo". This basis of the verb, however, as well as the verb "grumble", could serve as a hitherto not preserved word "work". This bird was nicknamed so for the constant and unceasing chirping.
chestnut sparrow
39. The chestnut sparrow is a real aggressor. He does not build his own nests, preferring to drive out other birds and occupy their dwelling.
40. A house sparrow is an indispensable helper in the household. Feeding in the summer on all kinds of insects (beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, midges), birds eat pests of gardens and fields. So, this bird provides an invaluable service to gardeners and farmers.
41. Many rural residents and summer residents who have fruit trees in their yards and gardens, thanks to sparrows, they refuse pesticides.
42. A sparrow will not be able to starve for a little more than two days, as it spends a lot of energy per day.
43. It turns out that sparrows are now dying out due to poor-quality food stuffed with chemicals. Sprayed chemical fertilizers began to be applied to the fields. In birds that feed on grain from the fields, the body stops producing calcium, which is necessary for the construction of eggshells.
44. These birds managed to visit one of the most important books in the world - the Bible.
45. Did you know that even a blanket was woven from the feathers of these birds? In 1992, preparing for his birthday, the son of a ruler decided to give his father an unusual gift - a large blanket of sewn sparrow feathers.
46. In harsh climatic conditions, sparrows can exist due to the presence of the coccygeal gland. This organ secretes a fatty substance, which is then transferred to feathers with the help of a beak and protects the body from the cold.
47. In 1958, a company opened in China due to a pest problem. Sparrows were declared the main enemies, since, according to the calculations of the helmsman Mao Zedong, they ate about 20-35 thousand tons of rice grown in the fields per year.
48. Almost 2 billion, according to statistics, sparrows were destroyed. After these actions, the harvest was better, but locusts and caterpillars ate it very much, the number of which was regulated by sparrows. The result was a period of famine that killed about 20 million people. I had to re-import these birds from a neighboring country.
49. Sparrow meat is tasteless and hard, so it is very rarely eaten.
50. Captive adult sparrows endure surprisingly poorly. It is likely that these mobile birds find it difficult to adapt to the limited space of the cage. But artificially fed chicks are tamed well.
