# House sparrows disappearing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 18, 2014, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619 "2014-02-18T13:59:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/21 "2014-02-19T15:42:56Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > No, “rufous” means red. It refers to the reddish-brown coloration of the feathers on top of the bird’s head. Do they make a whooshing sound as they go by? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/22 "2014-02-19T15:59:47Z")
The house sparrow has a habit of taking over blue birds nests killing the babies and often the adults in the process. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Beekeeper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/23 "2014-02-19T17:30:34Z")
Finch v House Sparrow: > **[When invasive species clash: Competition between the House Sparrow and House...](https://projectfeederwatch.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/when-invasive-species-clash-competition-between-the-house-sparrow-and-house-finch/)** > > Among the feeder birds of North America, few are as recognizable and widespread as the House Finch and House Sparrow. The House Sparrow, originally from Europe, is one of the most well-established … Also, some people with Purple Martin houses trap and kill House Sparrows, and I mean lots of them. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/24 "2014-02-19T18:25:53Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > Do they make a whooshing sound as they go by? 😉 No, they go so far over my head, the noise is too faint to hear. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/25 "2014-02-19T18:45:20Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > The house sparrow has a habit of taking over blue birds nests killing the babies and often the adults in the process. And yet, “Eastern Bluebird populations increased by almost 2 percent per year between 1966 and 2010, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.” [(Source here](http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/eastern_bluebird/lifehistory).) The threat posed by house sparrows to native American birds, at least around here in the Northeast, seems overblown to me. I would sooner worry about a situation in which the house sparrows disappeared. After all, they’re not the only birds that eat bugs and seeds and nest in cavities, and if even _they_ – a robust generalist species – can’t make it, we’ve got something to worry about. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/26 "2014-02-19T18:47:35Z")
> [@Sal\_Ammoniac](#): > > And yet, “Eastern Bluebird populations increased by almost 2 percent per year between 1966 and 2010, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.” [(Source here](http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/eastern_bluebird/lifehistory).) The threat posed by house sparrows to native American birds, at least around here in the Northeast, seems overblown to me. I would sooner worry about a situation in which the house sparrows disappeared. After all, they’re not the only birds that eat bugs and seeds and nest in cavities, and if even _they_ – a robust generalist species – can’t make it, we’ve got something to worry about. Thats the same concerns that I have. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Beekeeper)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/27 "2014-02-19T19:08:15Z")
Here’s what the USGS has to say about House Sparrows: [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/eastblue/ebexotic.htm](http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/eastblue/ebexotic.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/28 "2014-02-20T19:49:29Z")
The decline of house sparrows in London (where they are almost the city mascot) has been spectacular. 68% between 1994 and 2000 and the RSPB are [trying to stop the fall in numbers.](https://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/projects/details/235650-london-house-sparrow-parks-project) Personally, I remember the flocks of them in St James’ park back in the 70s and 80s. Just before I retired (about six years ago) it was hard to find even one bird. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/29 "2014-02-20T20:01:30Z")
> [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](#): > > The decline of house sparrows in London (where they are almost the city mascot) has been spectacular. 68% between 1994 and 2000 and the RSPB are [trying to stop the fall in numbers.](https://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/projects/details/235650-london-house-sparrow-parks-project) > > Personally, I remember the flocks of them in St James’ park back in the 70s and 80s. Just before I retired (about six years ago) it was hard to find even one bird. Does anyone look into these changes? I am aware of quite a few bird species that have either increased or decreased around here over the past 1/2 century. The great majority of the changes are easily explainable. Some are not as obvious but I have never seen or heard any kind of reports about any of them. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/30 "2014-02-20T21:36:19Z")
I believe in the UK the decrease has been blamed on the increased tidiness of parks and gardens, and the loss of seed and nesting sites. There’s still lots around here- in fact, I think we’ve had a small increase in the last few years. They’re native here though, and I likes 'em, so that’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/31 "2014-02-22T23:43:26Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I believe in the UK the decrease has been blamed on the increased tidiness of parks and gardens, and the loss of seed and nesting sites. Yeah, thats about it. Apparently the decline started _years_ ago with the loss of horses on the streets of London. > [@Filbert](#): > > There’s still lots around here- in fact, I think we’ve had a small increase in the last few years. They’re native here though, and I likes 'em, so that’s a good thing. A fair few in my neck of the woods (Medway Towns Kent), too. ---
**Author:** ![Old\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/5daacb/32.png) [@Old\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Goat)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/32 "2014-02-23T06:46:12Z")
I live in the south west end of Phinney Ridge in Seattle. I’ve had 20-30 sparrows at my bird feeder every year for the past several years. The Birds of Puget Sound book lists half a dozen sparrows in the area, but they all look pretty much the same to me. Noisy little buggers. Last week I heard a WHACK at the window and saw a hawk distagle himself from the bushes. Guess he was looking for lunch, but he missed. Saw him sitting atop a Douglas Fir looking around. Ever since then, the sparrows have disappeared, leaving the feeder to the chickadees and juncos. The hawk is still around. Tried to point out all the starlings hanging around the Fred Myers in Ballard, but he wasn’t interest. Pointed out the crows harassing an eagle over Fremont, but he wasn’t impressed. Ever since the Super Bowl, the hawks around here are feeling kinda feisty. Tried to remind him about the Cardinals, but he just shrugged it off. Guess that beating he laid on that horsie made him darned cocky.But we hall see, we shall see. The sparrows periodically disappear around here and return in a couple of weeks. Are they nesting? Maybe they found a better hang out. Fine with me, they were eating up to 2 1/2 cups of brid seed a day. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2014, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/33 "2014-02-23T06:56:35Z")
I the past 5 years we have had a huge increase in the population of coopers hawks. They seem to make a living on pigeons and doves from what I can tell. I can see more coopers hawks in a single day now than I saw the entire 50 years prior to this sudden increase. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619/34 "2014-02-25T06:28:47Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > [Good](http://www.abcbirds.org/conservationissues/threats/invasives/house_sparrow.html) [riddance](http://nestwatch.org/learn/nest-box-resource-center/managing-house-sparrows-and-european-starlings/) to [bad](http://www.columbia.edu/itc/cerc/danoff-burg/invasion_bio/inv_spp_summ/Passer_domesticus.htm) [rubbish](http://invasivespeciescouncil.com/Profiles_Birds.aspx). I recall seeing it suggested somewhere, that the presence in North America of house sparrows and European starlings – and other non-native birds which have developed into nuisance species – is due to some 19th-century guy with more resources and energy, than sense; who decided to introduce to the US, all the birds mentioned by Shakespeare. The sources linked to here, though, make it clear that the introduction story was more complex than that. Where I live in England – the north-eastern suburbs of Birmingham, in the West Midlands – house sparrows are still plentiful. In fact they, and European magpies (_Pica pica_) – both in abundance – are virtually the only birds that I see in my street. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-sparrows-disappearing/681619.md?page=1)