I know you have all heard of Jack Sparrow. But did you know he lives at our house? In fact he’s lived here for years raising his families.
Yes, I say families, as this Jack Sparrow is none other than the house sparrow that occupies the birdhouses. I nicknamed him Jack as that seemed to be very appropriate. House sparrows are an overlooked bird and sometimes regarded as a pest.
House sparrows are about 16 cm long and live in rural or urban settings but get their name because they prefer to live close to humans.
The male and female differ in colour.
The male being the darker one with black around its bill and head and throat. He also has a darker brown head.
The female is the lighter buff colour.
The male sits and chirps from early morning. His favourite spot is the eaves trough by the birdhouse or the lilac bush in front of the birdhouse.
The house sparrows are year round residents in our garden. We have birdhouses under the eaves at the front and back of the house and they have been residents in both for many years.
They love the flat feeder and the gazebo style feeder where there is mixed seed. They are also ground feeders and will visit the suet feeders.
Variety of sparrows
- all sparrows
- chipping sparrows
- house sparrows
- white crowned sparrows
- white throated sparrows
