Sparrow
Appearance:
Male House Sparrows have black throats and chest patches, light cheeks and brown nape. The female has a plain brownish chest and dull eye-stripe. The adult sparrow will measure 5-6" in height, and weigh one ounce. Sparrows can live 1-2 years in the wild up to 10 years in captivity.
Habitat:
The House sparrow is the number two urban pest bird. Introduced as a species to North America, the house sparrow quickly spread across the country due to its lack of natural enemies and its adaptive traits. Its ability to nest in urban structures, eat urban scraps and a large breeding capacity are some of these adaptive traits. The House Sparrow is actually a member of the weaverbird family and not a true Sparrow. Weaverbirds create intricate nests and relative to their size, the largest nests in the bird world. Their legs and toes are favored for branch perching and their short conical bills are ideal for seed cracking. They are boisterous, intelligent birds who roost in noisy flocks on branches of city trees, ivy covered walls and under eaves of houses.
House Sparrows are often a nuisance in urban areas like manufacturing and food processing plants. Gutters and drainage pipes clogged with sparrow nests can backup and cause extensive water damage and fires have been attributed to electrical shorts caused by machinery housing sparrow nests. Lastly, feces buildup can lead to structural damage from the uric acid in droppings, plus the bacteria, fungal agents and parasites in the feces also pose a health risk.
Nesting:
They build large nests relative to size which function as the center of all activity. They prefer small enclosed places such as house shutters, drainage piping, building rafters and corrugated metal siding. They will build a spherical nest in a tree or another exposed place if they have no other option. The building material will be sticks, with an inside lining of grass, string, fabrics or straw. The nest will often hold several families.
Breeding:
House sparrows only mate for a season. They average three broods per mating season with each brood containing four to seven eggs with 20 offspring a year average. Egg coloration will be white, pale blue or pale green with a few gray or brown dots. If unchecked, a breeding pair can grow to over 2,000 birds in two to three years.
Cycles:
House Sparrows are not migratory, but in cold climates can show movement between rural/suburban breeding sites and warmer winter roosting sites in the city. House Sparrows are aggressive birds and will often force out other birds from their territories. They are flocking birds and will gather in the thousands to take over feeding and roosting areas.
Diet:
Seeds and grain, as well as fruits, vegetables, human table scraps and insects.
Solutions:
What you can do: Good sanitation practices, such as removal of spilled food or refuse, can do much to reduce the attractiveness of an area to sparrows. This depends on the situation and whether or not the food source can be effectively and economically limited. The removal of nests and nest sites also may be included as part of a sanitation program.
Sparrow nests in vine-covered buildings can be difficult to locate and remove . Consideration should be given to radically trimming vines or removing them. All nests that are knocked down should be cleaned up and destroyed to prevent the birds from reusing the material and to prevent the spread of nest parasites.
Professional Solutions:
There are a wide variety of solutions available for handling a sparrow infestation. The best solution for sparrow problems, is complete exclusion.
Quik-Kill provides cleanup, physical removal, and preventive services for sparrows.
Our trained bird abatement technicians also specialize in the following services:
- Anti-Roost Systems (Spikes, Spring Wire, Coils, Electric Shock, and Anti-roost gels).
- Netting Installations (for large areas where anti-roost systems are not practical).
- Bird Aversion Fogging (great for sparrows and starlings when netting is not an option).
- Trapping (for pigeons when other preventive methods are not practical).
- Nest Depredation (for Canada Goose and Seagull problems-permit required).
- Visual and Audio Deterrents (for Canada Geese and Seagulls prior to nesting).
- Specialized Cleaning and Sanitizing of bird nesting and roosting sites.
