Sparrows in Chicagoland

[Humble Servant]

http://chicago.straightdope.com/sdc20090813.php

Not so grassland birds such as sparrows. Over the past 40 years, their numbers have plunged 90 percent as the grasslands where these birds nest have been built up.

Personal experience says that the column is right on re the devastation of Chicagoland's crow population--we had at least dozens one day and the next they were all gone.

But this statement about sparrows? I'm scratching my head. They're teeming over here by me. So I googled the grassland stuff, and while there does appear to be a species of tropical grassland sparrows, we appear to have English house sparrows here in non-tropical Chicago, and they do not seem to be grassland birds, nesting indiscriminantly in bushes, buildings and near humans (per the internet). Am I misreading the column?

[DZedNConfused]

I had much the same thought on crows... well actually I thought "the population is down in Chicago because they up and moved to Northern Utah"

and then I thought I really hadn't seen or heard them much this summer so maybe...

[Judy Pollock]

So, house sparrows are native to Europe and were brought here from England in the 19th century. They have adapted very well to our cities and towns.

However, there are over 20 species of native sparrows that either pass through the Chicago area or spend the summer or winter in our natural areas. The grasshopper sparrow, Henslow's sparrow and savanna sparrow are three examples of our formerly common summering grassland sparrows. As our grasslands have dwindled, so have the numbers of these birds, along with other grassland birds like the bobolink, meadowlark and short-eared owl. The good news, though, is that many of the local forest preserve districts and other public landowners are creating or restoring grassland and prairie habitats where these birds are thriving.

If you want to see a sparrow that's not a house sparrow, put bird seed on the ground throughout October, or just look under bushes in a local park. White-throated and white-crowned sparrows migrate through then and can be found in just about any setting, even very urban ones. They both have striped heads, so you can tell they aren't house sparrows.