In India five different species of sparrows are found The house sparrow ( Passer domesticus) is a bird of the sparrow family Passerdae, found abundantly and widespread. The house sparrow is human friendly and lives in rural and urban areas.Its length is (6.3 inches ) and has a weight of 24--39.5grams (0.85--1.39 oz). Weight varies with sex, females being smaller than males. Its diet consists of seeds of grains, weeds and insects.
Males have a grey crown, black bib and reddish brown back.Their is a black stripe across their eyes. Hens are browner with a pale stripe behind the eyes.
Interesting facts about house sparrows:
. The House Sparrow, although not a water bird can swim. It loves to throw dust and soil all over its body feathers just as if it is bathing in water. The size of its bib indicates dominance of the male within its flock, the bigger the bib, the more dominant it is. During spring, they often damage plants with yellow flowers such as crocus for reasons unknown. House Sparrows are among the most sedentary birds with even the juveniles nesting not too far from their parents.
TAXONOMY
The House Sparrow was among the first animals to be given a scientific name in the modern system of biological classification, since it was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, as Fringilla domestica] Later the genus name Fringilla came to be used only for the Chaffinch and its relatives, and House Sparrow has usually been placed in the genus Passer created by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760same meaning. The Latin word passer, like the English word "sparrow", is a term for small active birds, coming from a root word referring to speed The Latin word domesticus means "belonging to the house", like the common name a reference to its association with humans.[32] The House Sparrow is also called by a number of alternative English names, including English Sparrow, chiefly in North America;[and Indian Sparrow or Indian House Sparrow, for the birds of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.] Dialectal names include sparr, sparrer, spadger, spadgick, and philip, mainly in southern England; spug and spuggy, mainly in northern England; spur and sprig, mainly in Scotland;] and spatzie or spotsie, from the German Spatz, in North AmericaThe genus Passer contains about 25 species, depending on the authority, 26 according to the Handbook of the Birds of the World.[39] Most Passer species are dull-coloured birds with short square tails and stubby conical beaks, between 11 and 16 centimetres (4.3 and 6.3 in) long Mitochondrial DNA suggest that speciation in the genus occurred during the Pleistocene and earlier, while other evidence suggests speciation occurred 25,000 to 15,000 years ago] Within Passer, the House Sparrow is part of the "Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows" group and a close relative of the Mediterranean "willow sparrows".]
The taxonomy of the House Sparrow and its Mediterranean relatives is highly complicated. The common type of "willow sparrow" is the Spanish Sparrow, which resembles the House Sparrow in many respects.It frequently prefers wetter habitats than the House Sparrow, and it is often colonial and nomadic] In most of the Mediterranean, one or both species occur, with some degree of hybridisation] In North Africa, the two species hybridise extensively, forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure House Sparrows to pure Spanish Sparrows.
In much of Italy there is a type of sparrow apparently intermediate between the House and Spanish Sparrows, known as the Italian Sparrow. It resembles a hybrid between the two species, and is in other respects intermediate. Its specific status and origin are the subject of much debate. In the Alps, the Italian Sparrow intergrades over a roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) strip with the House Sparrowbut to the south it intergrades over the southern half of Italy and some Mediterranean islands with the Spanish Sparrow. On the Mediterranean islands of Malta, Gozo, Crete, Rhodes, and Karpathos, there are other apparently intermediate birds of unknown status.
Where have the sparrows gone?????? It has been estimated that the population of these birds has dropped by a whopping 97% in the last 7--8 years.
Males have a grey crown, black bib and reddish brown back.Their is a black stripe across their eyes. Hens are browner with a pale stripe behind the eyes.
Interesting facts about house sparrows:
. The House Sparrow, although not a water bird can swim. It loves to throw dust and soil all over its body feathers just as if it is bathing in water. The size of its bib indicates dominance of the male within its flock, the bigger the bib, the more dominant it is. During spring, they often damage plants with yellow flowers such as crocus for reasons unknown. House Sparrows are among the most sedentary birds with even the juveniles nesting not too far from their parents.
TAXONOMY
The House Sparrow was among the first animals to be given a scientific name in the modern system of biological classification, since it was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae, as Fringilla domestica] Later the genus name Fringilla came to be used only for the Chaffinch and its relatives, and House Sparrow has usually been placed in the genus Passer created by French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760same meaning. The Latin word passer, like the English word "sparrow", is a term for small active birds, coming from a root word referring to speed The Latin word domesticus means "belonging to the house", like the common name a reference to its association with humans.[32] The House Sparrow is also called by a number of alternative English names, including English Sparrow, chiefly in North America;[and Indian Sparrow or Indian House Sparrow, for the birds of the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia.] Dialectal names include sparr, sparrer, spadger, spadgick, and philip, mainly in southern England; spug and spuggy, mainly in northern England; spur and sprig, mainly in Scotland;] and spatzie or spotsie, from the German Spatz, in North AmericaThe genus Passer contains about 25 species, depending on the authority, 26 according to the Handbook of the Birds of the World.[39] Most Passer species are dull-coloured birds with short square tails and stubby conical beaks, between 11 and 16 centimetres (4.3 and 6.3 in) long Mitochondrial DNA suggest that speciation in the genus occurred during the Pleistocene and earlier, while other evidence suggests speciation occurred 25,000 to 15,000 years ago] Within Passer, the House Sparrow is part of the "Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows" group and a close relative of the Mediterranean "willow sparrows".]
The taxonomy of the House Sparrow and its Mediterranean relatives is highly complicated. The common type of "willow sparrow" is the Spanish Sparrow, which resembles the House Sparrow in many respects.It frequently prefers wetter habitats than the House Sparrow, and it is often colonial and nomadic] In most of the Mediterranean, one or both species occur, with some degree of hybridisation] In North Africa, the two species hybridise extensively, forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure House Sparrows to pure Spanish Sparrows.
In much of Italy there is a type of sparrow apparently intermediate between the House and Spanish Sparrows, known as the Italian Sparrow. It resembles a hybrid between the two species, and is in other respects intermediate. Its specific status and origin are the subject of much debate. In the Alps, the Italian Sparrow intergrades over a roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) strip with the House Sparrowbut to the south it intergrades over the southern half of Italy and some Mediterranean islands with the Spanish Sparrow. On the Mediterranean islands of Malta, Gozo, Crete, Rhodes, and Karpathos, there are other apparently intermediate birds of unknown status.
Where have the sparrows gone?????? It has been estimated that the population of these birds has dropped by a whopping 97% in the last 7--8 years.
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