House Sparrow?? Enfield CT Update (1 Viewer)

Lagopuss said:

Howdy! Its not the same bird from my last post. Still pretty young but Im thinking its an invasive house sparrow.

Click to expand...

fugl said:

In any case, wouldn't worry about the "invasive" part. House Sparrows have been part of the North American avifauna for over a hundred years. They're attractive little birds superbly adapted to human habitations and are here to stay.

Click to expand...

Lagopuss said:

I read that they invade native birds nests, kill all the chicks even if theyre unborn in the egg. They do that regardless if they need to use the nests themselves. Is that accurate?

Click to expand...

The Bird Nuts said:

Looks like a Brown-headed Cowbird.

Click to expand...

fugl said:

No, it isn’t. The main complaint about them is that they take over bluebird birdhouses for their own use, destroying eggs and nestlings (if present) in the process. In other words, they’re not vandals sowing destruction for its own sake but simply fierce competitors for nest sites around human habitations. Away from human habitations (and city parks and other such places) they’re seldom found so pose no threat to native species.

House Wrens are notorious for similar behavior but because they’re natives much less fuss is made about them.

Click to expand...

Lagopuss said:

Interesting thank you! I havent heard of those guys before but Ive definitely seen the adults in the area. And funny enough, after a little google search theyre native. But actually operate in a similar way that house sparrows do. They even invade house sparrow nests lol.

Is this something lots of birds do??

Is it only more harmful because of the increse in human development?Structures, Garbage, encroaching on the natural land etc??



We’re just making the natural bad habits in some species, impact more “docile” birds im feeling like we’re to blame.

Click to expand...

nartreb said:

Lots of birds compete for nests, evicting any other birds they find (if they can).

Brown-headed cowbirds are different. They don't kick out nesting birds, they (actually just the female, you'll see why) sneak into the nest and lay one of their eggs right on top of the eggs that are already there. When it hatches, the cowbird chick will be fed by its unwitting foster parents. (It will also evict their eggs or chicks, to eliminate competition.)
You'll often see a tiny adult finch or sparrow feeding a much larger baby cowbird. (The cowbird will keep following the adult around, begging for food, for several days after it leaves the nest.)

Example: https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Image:Brown-headedCowbirdDSCN9172.jpg

Click to expand...