The House Sparrow

Common Name: House Sparrow

Scientific Name: Passer domesticus

Habitat: House Sparrows have lived around humans for centuries. Look for them on city streets, taking handouts in parks and zoos, or cheeping from a perch on your roof or trees in your yard. House Sparrows are absent from undisturbed forests and grasslands, but they’re common in countryside around farmsteads.

Range: The House Sparrow lives in the United States in its entirety and much of Western South America.

Interesting Fact: The House Sparrow takes frequent dust baths. It throws soil and dust over its body feathers, just as if it were bathing with water. In doing so, a sparrow may make a small depression in the ground, and sometimes defends this spot against other sparrows.

Source: Cornell, University (2009). House Sparrow. Retrieved April 17, 2009, from All About Birds Web site: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Sparrow/id