Outdoor Ontario

Request for Information => Bird ID => Topic started by: ravynne40 on June 02, 2009, 07:25:48 AM

Title: difference between sparrows?
Post by: ravynne40 on June 02, 2009, 07:25:48 AM

not sure if this is the right place to post this but my question is what is the difference between an old world sparrow and a common house sparrow?

i'm checking out pictures on wikipedia and i'm having a difficult time determining the differences.

can anyone shed some light on this for me?

thanks

Irene C.

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Post by: GStuart on June 02, 2009, 09:49:02 AM

"Old world sparrow" is a classification.  In North America, the two that can be found are the ubiquitous House Sparrow and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow which is only found near St. Louis, Missouri.

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Post by: Bluffs Birder on June 04, 2009, 01:14:21 AM

Just to further what GStuart is saying...

The House Sparrow and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow were purposely introduced birds to North America from Europe, hence the "Old World Sparrow" classification.  Other sparrow species, such as the Song Sparrow, are native to North America.

Eurasian Tree Sparrows were imported from Germany and released in 1870 as part of a project to enhance the native North American avifauna.

House Sparrows were imported from England and introduced to North America in several cities in the years between 1850 and 1875 to control pests.  The mistake was realized after they were well established and by 1883 they were already considered pests and their introduction a disaster.

Hope this helps!
Walter

Title: sparrows
Post by: ravynne40 on June 04, 2009, 06:33:26 AM

thanks and yes it helps i guess it will take some time for me to learn the physical differences of the sparrows too, at a quick glance some of them look all too similar to each other

IreneC.

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Post by: TomTelford on June 04, 2009, 08:42:48 PM

If you think sparrows look similar, wait 'til you start watching warblers....  

Tom.

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Post by: ravynne40 on June 04, 2009, 09:39:57 PM

Quote from: "TomTelford"

If you think sparrows look similar, wait 'til you start watching warblers....  

Tom.

yes I have noticed that already...was that yellow with black wings or yellow with black markings on the wings..then when I saw an American Goldfinch..it really messed me up (laughing here)

I was also told that Canadian Tire has a bird guide book and they don't carry them anymore, so now I have to go to  Chapters when I find the time. My friend picked up a book on birding at a garage sale but the book is dated 1921.

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Post by: JMCDA on June 04, 2009, 09:51:22 PM

Quote from: "TomTelford"

If you think sparrows look similar, wait 'til you start watching warblers....  

Tom.

..you don't want to be scaring her off now! LOL

Native Sparrows are much harder to ID in my opinion but a good place to start is with their habitat - where are you seeing the sparrow?  
...deep swamp or boggy area - probably a swamp sparrow or ???
...reedy marsh area - could be a song sparrow or ???
...grassland - depending on type/length of grass could be a savannah or ???

each type usually tends to be found in the habitat they prefer, after you have that established then you can listen for song, look for distinctive markings, shape of head, length of tail, relative size etc.

Joann

..least thats how I do it :-)

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Post by: GStuart on June 04, 2009, 11:39:57 PM

This week... sparrows.

Next week... flycatchers!

Title: difference between sparrows?
Post by: ravynne40 on June 05, 2009, 05:59:37 AM

I will take Joann's advice and do some more homework! I feel like I'm back at school again. ahh those were the days....

flycatchers?...bring it on LOL!

so many birds...so little time eh? I just hate when work gets in the way of my birding *just kidding, they let me out at lunch!*

have a great day everyone