Sparrow: The resident little bird that lives alongside us

The sparrow is the little bird we meet most often: only 14 to 18 centimetres long, round and plump, chirping on eaves, wires and treetops. It is a bird that lives almost entirely alongside people — our towns and farmland are its home. Let's meet it.

Its body

The sparrow is small, with feathers mostly brown and grey and lightly striped — plain but easy to recognise. Its bill is short and stout, suited to pecking seeds, and its feet grip branches and wires firmly. Its call is the familiar chirrup, often ringing outside the window early in the morning.

Where it lives and what it eats

The sparrow is a small omnivore that lives almost entirely alongside people: in cities it takes crumbs and food scraps, on farmland it eats weed seeds, and in the breeding season it catches insects to feed its chicks — so it actually helps farmers by clearing pests. It usually nests on eaves, in wall holes or in the gaps of air-conditioning units.

Why it does not move away for winter

The sparrow is a "resident bird", staying in the same area all year round and not migrating in winter. To get through the cold it grows a thicker coat of feathers and relies on the group for warmth. At dusk, flocks gather in trees to chatter — a noisy "meeting" — and then roost together. Yet in some big cities sparrow numbers are falling, and scientists are still working out why.

A note for grown-ups

You could watch sparrows by the window with a child: what do they eat, and where do they live? Helping a child see that even the commonest animal has secrets worth studying is valuable. You could also ask: if a city lost its sparrows, what sound would be missing?