Old World Sparrows

House Sparrow

(formerly English Sparrow)Passer domesticus
“The English sparrow. What can be done with him?”That was one of the “subjects for discussion” at the 23rd annual meeting of the Horticultural Society of Western New York when it met at Rochester in 1888. (D&C, 12 January 1888)Alas, it was already too late.Seth Green, Rochester’s renowned father of fish hatcheries, and James Vick, its famed seed merchant, were among many well-intentioned but badly miscalculating individuals who had released these nonnative interlopers from England across the American landscape in the mid 1800s.They thought to control insects. Instead, they unleashed an ornithological nuisance.Populations exploded as these sparrows feasted on undigested seeds left in the horse droppings strewn on city streets during that era. They also thrived because the Victorian architecture of that era provided innumerable nooks and crannies for nests. (Marcotte, pp. 16-17)In a very short time, people rued the introduction of these birds, and they continue to plague us to this day, usurping many of our beloved songbirds from nest cavities. Background
Successfully introduced in North America after 100 birds from England were released in Brooklyn NY in fall 1851 and spring 1852. Subsequent introductions were made in other locations. This species is now nearly worldwide in distribution, though in desert or tundra areas it is found only at scattered human settlements, nesting in buildings and other man-made structures. It is primarily a seed eater, but up to 9 percent of its diet can be insects and other invertebrates in spring and summer. As many as four broods in a season. Decline of horse-drawn transportation deprived this species of a source of seeds from the droppings along city streets, so densest numbers shifted to agricultural areas. By 1943 there were an estimated 150 million in North America. BBA data suggests a more recent continentwide decline, linked to a shift to larger, cleaner farms and a greater degree of monoculture crops. (BNA 12: 2, 4, 13-14)
Local history
Birds were introduced directly from Europe into Rochester between 1865 and 1869. (B&M, p. 398) More introductions followed. “Some time since Seth Green sent to England for one hundred sparrows. An installment arrived this morning,” the Rochester Union and Advertiser reported in 1872. “The remainder will arrive soon.” Once they were freed, it was hoped, they would “dwell in the trees and destroy the vermin so destructive to the foliage and fruit.” (UA, 26 March 1872)And two days later: “The English sparrows lately brought to this city by Seth Green have been set at liberty on his premises on Motimer st., where suitable houses for their shelter have been erected. . . . These birds are tame and may easily be killed by the boys if they are not taught to let them alone . . . It would be well if the teachers would advise the scholars in the schools about these sparrows that they may not disturb them.” (UA, 28 March 1872)Eaton (1910) listed this as an abundant resident in Monroe, Wayne and Livingston counties. (Eaton I: county charts)R. E. Horsey, in his listing of birds seen at Rochester and Monroe County from 1913 to 1936, indicated average counts of five to 25 birds, with a maximum count of 1,000. “The last 10 years they have decreased in numbers with the Autos taking the place of horses. Not particularly numerous or bothersome now.” And yet, when Leo Tanghe examined 1,665 outings by Genesee Ornithological Society members from 1951-54, this species was reported 1,435 times, with average tallies of 50 to 70 year round. (KB 5: 69: 7A-7B)Tanghe in 1953 considered it an abundant breeding species here, at “many” locations. (GOS, May/August 1953) “The star of the House Sparrow appears to have reached its zenith during the second decade of the present century,” Beardslee and Mitchell wrote in the mid 1960s (B&M, p. 398). “Since that time its numbers have decreased to a considerable extent, both in city and village, although it is still much too common for those of us who prefer the native birds whose places it has taken.”

Status
The Monroe County annotated list (1985) described this introduced species as an abundant, permanent resident.Livingston County, Fox (1998) considered this a very common introduced permanent resident.
Occurrence
Summer/breeding status: This species has an amazing ability to take advantage of every nook and cranny for nest sites. It is not unusual, for example, to see these birds carrying nest material into the open ends of the metal arms supporting traffic lights over busy intersections. One of the new street lamps installed in Frank Dobson’s neighborhood in 1994 failed after only two weeks. “RG&E workers discovered that house sparrows somehow had gotten material inside the lamp cover,” Dobson noted. “When it was removed, there must have been a half a peck of material scattered on the road. At this writing there is another lamp out. Perhaps sparrows at work again?” (Birds, 17 July 1994)The only wonder is that evidence of breeding was not confirmed in every block during the Breeding Bird Atlas projects.

For all the negative connotations, Dobson noted, “they have to be given some credit for adaptability and industriousness.” In 1985 a pair occupied a birdhouse mounted on the front of his garage. “Working in and around that garage for several days, I was often within three feet of the nesting box. None of my actions or noise seemed to deter the pair from feeding their young. And feed them they did! It was amazing how frequently the sparrows made the trip to the nest opening, where gaping mouths awaited . . .” The parents brought “enormous numbers of small green caterpillars, white moths and a variety of other insects.” (Birds, 14 July 1985)Steve and Carol Bernardini, a Greece couple, showed remarkable compassion for these birds. A car that needed repair sat in their driveway for several weeks until it was finally driven to a nearby garage. “The mechanic working on the car kept hearing chirping sounds, like birds, coming from under the rear,” Dobson reported. A pair of House Sparrows had found an opening in the frame and built a nest there; the nestlings were still in it.“After several hours at the repair shop, the car was once again returned to the driveway, only this time facing the opposite direction.” The parent birds had no problem relocating the nest and immediately returned to the task of feeding their youngsters. At one point the car was moved into the garage, which “really shook the parent birds. So the Bernardinis decided to let the car set, till the young birds left their nest.” (Birds, 19 June 1988)

Interestingly, the CBC data above suggest that, if anything, House Sparrows may be decreasing here. “We appear to be witnessing a decline in House Sparrow numbers as they are in the United Kingdom,” Robert McKinney, compiler for the Conesus-Hemlock-Honeoye Lakes CBC noted after the 2005 count. The tally was 284, compared to an average of 1,027 and an all-time high of 2,929. “It has been over fifteen years since we had a count over 1,000 birds.” (LG, February 2006)
Maxima:This species is hardly ever reported in the noteworthy sightings or regional summaries, but an exception occurred in the Little Gull list for August 1977. “The lowly House Sparrow has finally broken into the ranks of the noteworthy records,” Chip Perrigo noted. “575 (seen on the 23rd at Greece) is a lot of sparrows in one flock. Those of you who are still guffawing just remember that someday, when the last Bluebirds are evicted from their nest boxes by Starlings and House Sparrows we can still say that at least the RBA was forewarned.” (LG, September 1977)A Livingston County maximum count of 750 was tallied on 3 January 1971 by Madden. (Fox, p. 104)

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