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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


California Nature: Sparrows


In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or greyish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. Sparrows are seed-eaters, and they also consume small insects.

The Emberizidae are a large family of passerine birds. They are seed-eating birds with a distinctively shaped bill. In Europe, most species are named as buntings. In North America, most of the species in this family are known as Sparrows, but these birds are not closely related to the Old World sparrows which are in the family Passeridae. Many emberizid species have distinctive head patterns.

A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a "crew", "flutter", "meinie", "quarrel", and "ubiquity" of sparrows.
Sparrows are small brown birds found living near people House Sparrows are one of the most widespread and abundant birds in the state, and throughout most of North America.  The House Sparrow is native to Europe and Asia.  It was first introduced in the 1850's in New York City and rapidly spread over most of the continent.  The House Sparrow strongly associates with areas of human activity, hence its ability to adapt to nearly any urban habitat. 

The House Sparrow is nearly always around man-made structures, from densely populated urban centers to residential areas and farmsteads. Their constant presence outside our doors makes them easy to overlook, and their tendency to displace native birds from nest boxes causes some people to resent them. But House Sparrows, with their capacity to live so intimately with us, are just beneficiaries of our own success.

The House Sparrow takes frequent dust baths. It throws soil and dust over its body feathers, just as if it were bathing with water. In doing so, a sparrow may make a small depression in the ground, and sometimes defends this spot against other sparrows.
California Towhees are essentially large sparrows, with a sparrow’s short, rounded wings, long tail, and thick, seed-cracking beak, but towhees are larger and bulkier. The long tail and short wings can give this bird an ungainly look in flight.

California Towhees hop or run on the ground but tend to stay close to the protection of low shrubs and trees. When not foraging they may perch on shrubs, rooftops, and backyard fences, to sit and chip for long periods. In flight they look out of practice, using lots of wingpower to travel short distances.

Your first encounter with a California Towhee may be prompted by a tireless knocking at your window or car mirror: these common backyard birds habitually challenge their reflections. But California Towhees are at heart birds of the tangled chaparral and other hot scrublands of California and Oregon. You’re as likely to hear their bright chip notes along a secluded trail as on your way out your front door. If you live in the Southwest, look for this bird’s twin, the Canyon Towhee.
sparrows love living near people and buildings in california nature The Brewer Sparrow breeds in northern Rocky Mountains of the Yukon and British Columbia and in the Great Basin south to southern California and New Mexico. The Brewer Sparrow spends winters in southwestern states and is absent from the Pacific coast. Preferred habitats include sagebrush and alpine meadows

Adults have grey-brown backs and speckled brown crowns, both with dark streaks, and a pale eye-ring. Their wings are brown with light wing bars and the underparts are pale grey. Their bill is pale with a dark tip and they have a long notched tail. Brewer Sparrow are similar in appearance to the Clay-colored Sparrow but do not have a pale stripe on the crown or grey neck patch.

The Brewer Sparrow is unusual in having two distinct nesting populations, one in the alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains of the Yukon and the other in the sagebrush deserts of the western United States. In the future, the Brewer's Sparrow may be split into two separate species, one subspecies, the Timberline Sparrow, differs in appearance, song, breeding range and habitat.
Lark Sparrow have a typically sparrow-like dark-streaked brown back, and white underparts except for a dark central spot. The cheeks and crown sides are chestnut, with white eyebrow and crown stripes. The dark tail's corners are also white.

Young Lark Sparrows are duller, and the underparts are streaked. These birds forage on the ground or in low bushes. They mainly eat seeds, but insects, including grasshoppers are also eaten in the breeding season. They form flocks on migration or in winter. The breeding habitat is a variety of open habitats including grasslands and cultivation.

Lark Sparrows nest on the ground, laying 3-6 eggs in a grass cup nest sheltered by a clump of grass or other vegetation. The eggs are white with black scrawling. The song is two clear notes followed by a mixture of buzzes and trills.
Blackbirds    California Condor    Cardinals    Cranes    Crows, Jays, & Magpies   Eagles    Finches    Flycatchers    Hawks Hummingbirds    Owls    Game Birds    Raptors    Shore Birds    Sparrows    Tanager    Thrushes    Vultures    Wading Birds Warblers      Woodpeckers      Wrens
 
 
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