Sparrows Description

The Sparrow is a slight bird, measuring 5”-6” and weighing approximately 1 oz. They female birds have a plain brownish chest with a dull eye-stripe and the males have black throat and chest patches with light cheeks and brown napes. They are highly social birds, roosting in large, noisy flocks.

They tend to choose small, enclosed spaces to roost including, house shutters, drainage piping, building rafters and eaves, ivy covered walls and metal siding. They build large, intricate nests that hold several families.

They have short life spans, ranging one to two years in the wild and therefore only mate for one season. During their mating season, they average three broods with approximately twenty offspring. In just as little as two or three years a flock can grow to as large as 2,000 birds.

Like the Starling, they are aggressive birds and use their large flock size to take over feeding and roosting areas of other birds and migrate to urban areas in the colder months in search of warmth provided by city buildings.

Damage: Similar to Starlings, Sparrows present as a bird nuisance in both urban and rural areas. Given their nature to form large flocks for feeding and roosting they can overrun a building or structure. Large-scale flocks translate into large-scale fecal build-up.  Fecal build-up presents a slip and fall risk as well as a health risk given the bacteria, fungal agents and parasites commonly found in the feces. Bird feces’ is extremely acidic and can corrode stone, metal and masonry as well as decompose wood causing wear and tear on your structure, your machinery and your inventory. Fecal build-up also results in clogged gutters, HVAC units and drainpipes that contaminate water and air quality.

Sparrow picture courtesy of Wikipedia