Feathered Friends Charm Page

Sparrows

Sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds worldwide. Sparrows are small, plump, brown-grey birds with short tails and stubby, powerful beaks. The sparrows live in open habitats, including grasslands and scrubland. Sparrows are extremely vocal birds that chirp all the time. They also live around humans and inhabit towns and cities in large numbers. The sparrows are some of the few birds that engage in dust bathing. Sparrows will first scratch a hole in the ground with their feet, then lie in it and fling dirt or sand over their bodies with flicks of their wings. Water bathing is similar to dust bathing, with the sparrow standing in shallow water and flicking water over its back with its wings, also ducking its head under the water. This is a social event with up to a hundred birds participating at once, and is followed by preening and sometimes group singing. They fly and feed in small flocks. Sparrows prefer to reside close to permanent human dwellings where they know they can food and they rest in nests that are normally located under roofs, bridges and in tree hollows. When it comes to safety, these species can turn quite aggressive to avoid the intruders from attacking their nests.

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