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Backyard
Birds
by Marvin
Schwilling
HOUSE
SPARROW
Our
Kansas checklist lists it as the house sparrow; others call
it the English sparrow while still others correctly call
it the black-chinned weaver finch. Although it was introduced
into the United States from England, Africa was the original
home of this species.
The
record shows that eight pairs were introduced in Brooklyn,
New York in 1850, but none survived. Two years later, more
were imported and they now have spread over most of the
United States.
As their
population increased, they aggressively took over backyard
nest boxes and replaced the bluebird as the most common
nesting bird near our homes.
The
male is rather colorful with a black throat and chest, white
cheeks, chestnut nape and gray crown.
They
do not have a pleasing song, but rather a long series of
monotonous chirps.
Next:
Black-capped Chickadee
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