# One sparrow giving a crumb to another sparrow **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 11, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924 "2012-07-11T20:20:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/1 "2012-07-11T20:20:43Z")
I was just outside eating a hamburger on a park bench and a bunch of sparrows came in front of me, looking for something to eat. I tossed them a few tiny crumbs and they seemed happy with that. There was one thing I noticed, though: sometimes one sparrow would grab a crumb and feed it to another (adult, as far as I can tell) sparrow. What’s the possible motivation for this? Would they be mother and son? Husband and wife? Sparrow-of-the-evening and client? ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/2 "2012-07-11T20:30:14Z")
> [@](#): > > What’s the possible motivation for this? That would be mating behavior. Birds do it, there is also something about bees. You will not see the same food sharing in the winter. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/3 "2012-07-11T20:58:04Z")
I had a hunch it wasn’t just altruism! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/4 "2012-07-11T21:06:36Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Husband and wife? Sparrow-of-the-evening and **client**? There’s a Pirates of the Caribbean joke in here somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/5 "2012-07-12T05:36:06Z")
I’ve heard that called tidbitting when chickens or quail do it. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/6 "2012-07-12T05:48:38Z")
They were probably babies grown up enough to look like adults. We had a sparrow mecca in our back yard and I saw this all the time. It’s a little more obvious when there’s more than one “juvenile” mobbing mom with open mouths. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/7 "2012-07-12T05:53:44Z")
Did it look like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJx7ACSx2GE) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/8 "2012-07-12T16:21:47Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > They were probably babies grown up enough to look like adults. We had a sparrow mecca in our back yard and I saw this all the time. I suppose it’s possible, although the second sparrow certainly didn’t have any mobility problems hopping around on the sidewalk or flying away when people walked by. I.e., he/she seemed perfectly capable of feeding himself/herself. ---
**Author:** ![AndrewL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AndrewL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndrewL)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/9 "2012-07-12T17:37:01Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I suppose it’s possible, although the second sparrow certainly didn’t have any mobility problems hopping around on the sidewalk or flying away when people walked by. I.e., he/she seemed perfectly capable of feeding himself/herself. That’s normal. The hatchling leaves the nest as soon as it is physically able to fly, but still hangs around and begs food from its parents for as long as they’ll put up with it. ---
**Author:** ![RedSwinglineOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@RedSwinglineOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedSwinglineOne)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/10 "2012-07-12T17:38:50Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > They were probably babies grown up enough to look like adults. This. I don’t know about sparrows, but doves are very nearly full size by the time they leave the nest. (I have a nest just outside my front window.) Looking at them on the ground you would not assume they were babies. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/11 "2012-07-12T18:03:57Z")
Here in San Antonio the major local bird is the [great-tailed grackle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great-tailed_Grackle). One funny behavior I’ve seen is what I assume are juveniles hopping around on the ledges of the windows at my office with their mouths open towards the window. They’re begging for food from their own reflection. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/one-sparrow-giving-a-crumb-to-another-sparrow/627924/12 "2012-07-13T02:55:06Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > Did it look like [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJx7ACSx2GE) Sort of. Around 0:30, it looks like one bird is dropping a crumb in the other bird’s mouth, as I saw. But in my case, the feeder was darting around picking up the crumb and the feed-ee was just sitting there. Then the feeder hopped over to the feed-ee, the feed-ee opened its mouth, and the feeder dropped the crumb in.