Animalia Life

The twenty-seven species of OldWorld sparrows are closely related to weaver finches and were once grouped with them in the family Ploceidae before being placed in their own family. They are all small, seed-eating birds that occupy a wide variety of habitats throughout Eurasia and Africa. Over half of the true sparrows (Passer) coexist well in human habitations and at least one, the house sparrow, has for so long adapted to exist in humanmodified landscapes that it is no longer found naturally in the wild. House sparrows coexist with humans in habitats and climates ranging from tundra to tropics. Other Passer species occur in habitats as diverse as desert, woodlands, or tropical rain forests. Dry brush country and mountain habitats are occupied by species of rock sparrows (Petronia) which may range upward of fifteen thousand feet in the Himalayas. Males claim nest sites and sing to attract females and deter other males. Following pair formation both sexes help build the nest.ManyPasser species, such as tree sparrows (Passer montanus), are solitary nesters, usually nesting in tree cavities, but some are at least partly social and nest in loose aggregations. Several species also build a ball-shaped nest with a feather-lined interior and an entrance toward the side. Depending on species, from two to eight whitish or mottled eggs are laid in a clutch, generally fewer in the tropics and more in temperate zones. Incubation is brief, generally eleven or twelve days, and the young remain in the nest for another two weeks (up to seventeen days). The young are fed on a variety of foods, mostly seeds and insects, but discarded bits of human food, grains, and other discarded edible substances are often readily used to feed the young.

Some Typical Sparrows and Finches
The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) belongs to the subfamily Carduinalleae. Males are bright "cardinal" red with black about the bill. Females are a duller brown-red. Both have a distinctive crest. The species is widespread throughout eastern North America, in western North America from the Great Plains south and west into California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and into Mexico. It is essentially nonmigratory and winters in the same general area. The cardinal's range has expanded northward in recent years, especially intoNewEngland, and it has been successfully introduced in Hawaii. Cardinals dwell in mostly edge habitats, especially the interface of woodland and meadow, and edges of swamps of shrubby wetlands, especially areas that offer shrubby evergreens for nesting. They have adapted well to human-modified landscapes and commonly nest in landscaped yards in which the mix of ornamentals and grass essentially mimics its natural habitats. One of the earlier nesting species, cardinals may claim their territories in late February. The female typically constructs a nest of leaves, weeds, grasses, and thin bark strips in dense shrubbery, often in either evergreens or vine tangles from one to twenty feet high, but generally lower. Clutch size is generally three or four spotted white eggs which hatch in about twelve to fourteen days. Three broods may be raised in a season in southern states, about two broods inmore northerly states. The young are fed seeds and small insects. Adults divide roles and responsibilities to raise a second and sometimes a third family; the male cares for the first brood while the female incubates the second brood. The young and adults also form family groups that may remain together in fall. Groups often form loose flocks of up to seventy birds in winter. Cardinals are common birds at feeders. The American goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) belongs to the family Fringillidae. It is widespread in North America, breeding from southern Canada southward to Gulf Coast states, west to California. At least partially migratory, it winters along the Gulf Coast and Florida but may winter anywhere in its breeding range in mild winters. The American goldfinch is a bird of fields and open woodlands. It is a late-nesting species, often not beginning until August in its northern range, late May or June in western and more southern states. Nests are constructed in branch forks, often from one to thirty feet high. The highly compact, cup-shaped nests are lined with thistle or thistledown and are so tightly constructed that they hold water-young sometimes drown following heavy rainstorms when the nest is flooded. Generally four to six (usually five) bluish eggs are laid and incubated by the female for about two weeks. The male attends the incubating female at the nest, bringing her food. Young are fed by regurgitation as the parents first fill their crops with dandelion, burdock, thistle, or chicory seeds, berries, and insects, then regurgitate or cough them up to feed each of the young. Seeds are usually augmented by insects, especially caterpillars, grasshoppers, aphids, and plant lice. The house sparrow (Passer domesticus) belongs to the family Passeridae. It is the most widely distributed of Old World sparrows, ranging across Eurasia and Africa and successfully introduced in South America and Australia. Repeated introductions of birds in North America between 1850 and 1867 resulted in the establishment of this aggressive songbird. At the turn of the last century (1900), it was probably the most abundant bird in North America but has declined with the switch to combustion engine vehicles, for it fed on the scattered feed grain fed to horses. The house sparrow gathers in large winter roosts in urban and suburban areas or evergreen plantations. House sparrows are aggressive cavity nesters. Their success has at least partly been at the cost of other cavity nesters such as bluebirds and swallows. Nesting sites are selected in cultivated areas, especially buildings, outbuildings, farms, and edge habitat between urban and suburban landscapes and natural landscapes. Artificial cavities, including nest boxes, are also readily appropriated by this adaptable species. The nest of small twigs and leaves is lined with grasses, feathers, hair, and bits of paper and other discarded materials. The four to six white or greenish eggs are incubated for about fourteen days. Young are brooded by the female and fed mostly insects and spiders, along with seeds and blossoms.

Sparrows Facts

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Families: Fringillidae (New World sparrows); Emberizidae; Passaridae (Old World sparrows)
Geographical distribution: All continents, except Madagascar and South Pacific islands
Habitat: Prefer temperate regions, although some species are found in Arctic, desert, tropic, and subtropical regions
Gestational period:Varies by species, but most eggs are incubated for eleven to fourteen days
Life span: Varies; three to ten years in the wild, five to eight years in captivity
Special anatomy: Beaks adapted for gathering, holding, crushing, and eating seeds; finches have nine primary wing feathers and twelve tail feathers; melodious song

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