How to Tell House Sparrows From Other Birds + ID Quiz

Nest Hollow
Nest Hollow
8,601
0
Published 2021-07-29
Whether you're just curious or you're planning to manage house sparrows (invasive in the US and kill native birds), knowing the difference between these little brown birds and other birds is very important.

The female house sparrow in particular is really tough to distinguish when starting out. In this guide, we point out a few characteristics to look out for so that you can confirm you have a house sparrow and can dispatch.

** The first example in the quiz shows an American tree sparrow. This one is still very difficult to tell apart from female house sparrows, and I don't believe we gave good enough points. One of the other big signs we did not mention is a much browner cap. The cap will be a deeper, chestnut color red. And its brown eyeline will also be a much deeper color.

___________________________________________________________________________

* Want to distinguish birds just by their sound? Checkout Cornell's BirdNET app: birdnet.cornell.edu/

* Had a hard time still distinguishing a male house sparrow from a Eurasian Tree Sparrow (not the same as the American Tree Sparrow)? Check out this video:    • Another Introduced Sparrow to Watch O...  

* Interested in sparrow traps? You can find the Van Ert nest box traps here: vanerttraps.com/

And you can find the repeating elevator trap, shown in this video, here: sparrowtraps.net/

* To humanely dispatch house sparrows, watch this video:    • House Sparrow Dispatch Via Blow Metho...  

___________________________________________________________________________
WHY ARE SPARROWS CONSIDERED "DREADED" IN NORTH AMERICA?

Not all sparrows are dreaded. Just old world sparrows such as the house sparrow, which was introduced into North America. Its population has gotten very out of control, and now they are considered invasive.

The big reason they're problematic is because they are extremely aggressive toward native birds. They will kill adult birds, nestlings and eggs for nest boxes. Putting up more nest boxes does not solve the problem. Often, they will kill a bird in another nest box, and not even take it. Their presence along with habitat loss are two reasons native cavity birds like bluebirds, chickadees and downy woodpeckers struggle so much - and in some places, their population is too low.

For more about the horrors of what house sparrows do to native cavity birds, check out this video:    • Invasive Sparrows and Starlings Attac...  


www.nesthollow.com
All Comments (12)
  • @boopaholic4542
    Just learning about how invasive and awful these birds are. And we're surrounded, so also learning to deter. I'll be rewatching many times since I'm new to identification too. Thanks!
  • @shannonspage9360
    I have been recently doing sound recordings using the Merlin app to get an idea of what birds I have nesting around my property. Surprisingly no house sparrows or starlings. I did capture audio of the chipping sparrow and song sparrow. There was the house finch which is an invasive species but I don’t think they really cause too many issues for native birds, with the exception of when a brown headed cowbird female mistakenly uses their nests for their egg placement. But not too many people complain when a brown headed cowbird chick doesn’t survive.
  • @Birdie81364
    I began some serious birding this year and have learned so much from your videos so thank you! I thought I was being invaded with house sparrows and just watched your video again. The birds I have are house finches. I just realized that they have a pattern on the front rather then plain grey and do not have the liner above the eye. Thanks again for your great videos.
  • @MrMrannoying
    I’ve been chasing off this persistent female house sparrow this season from my feeder. I can identify it pretty quickly now after bird watching for about a year and a half. What I check for first and foremost is that light eyebrow above the eye. The other things I look for will be the plain breast. House finches have clear streaks that I’ve grown accustomed to, so I can tell when the house sparrow lacks these. Lastly, Something about its back and the tail feathers look different from house finches. I can’t quite tell what it is yet but I think the feathers tend to have darker areas.
  • @nunyabiznis817
    My neighborhood has been taken over by the house sparrow in the last 5 years and has chased-out the few insect-eating songbirds we used to have. We still have plenty of songbirds but they only or mostly eat seeds and berries and they don;t eat the kinds of bugs I have in my garden when they do occasional eat insects. Being a gardener who tries to be as organic as possible and use the least amount of chemicals as possible (even organic ones) in order to keep costs down to make it worthwhile, it's no longer worth it for me to have a garden as it would be cheaper just to buy veggies in the store. I have a lot of pests in my garden and they used to be kept in check but not anymore. I don't have the guts to catch birds and kill them and my neighbors don't want to hear about how to deter them from their feeders, so this year will be my last year gardening.