House Sparrow

This common male House Sparrow is the best I could come up with from my bird walk yesterday. I don’t see them often in my own back yard, but a walk in Salemtowne always produces some sighting. They used to be called English Sparrows, probably as they came to this country via ships from England. They have made themselves right at home in this county and had spread across the whole US, in part because they can have three broods a year. They are however looked down upon because of their ability to take over nests of other birds.  And I know about this first hand from warring with them for many years as they repeatedly won out in a contest with White-breasted Nuthatches for a bird house.  Year after year the Nuthatches would get started with nesting in a bird house we had at our South Salem home, and repeatedly the House Sparrows would come in and take over, and the Nuthatches would leave. That being said, if my choice is a House Sparrow or no birds, I will always choose the sparrow and go ahead and enjoy its sweet chirping sounds and industrious behavior. And, I think this guy is rather handsome.