One of the most common birds found throughout the eastern states of Australia is the House Sparrow.
This little bird is approximately 15cm in length.
In many places, including Western Australia, it is considered a pest and every effort is made to keep this bird out of their terrain. It is found in settlements anywhere, from large cities to small isolated homesteads out in the bush.
Wherever Man has set up homes and farms as well, these birds take up residence also. This seems to be the case worldwide. Texts tell us that the Sparrow was originally introduced from Europe.
It lives in trees as well as on the ground and can be quite noisy as well. It seems to eat almost anything which includes scraps left by humans, insects and a range of different types of seeds. Neither is it afraid to compete with native birds.
The House Sparrow does nest in trees at times but one of the reasons it is unpopular is that it will nest in awnings of houses or even in easily accessible holes in walls of man-made constructions.
The increasing numbers of this bird is no surprise as they breed at any time of the year, hatching up to six eggs at each setting.
As the illustration shows, the plumage of the male has quite strong brown colouring. The female is also brown on the wings and head but her colouring is much duller than the male.
Another migrant from overseas, the Tree Sparrow is similar to the House Sparrow but is only found in Victoria and has not spread across the country as its counterpart has done.
