I recently found out on one of my recent blogs exactly what bird fell onto the classroom window. It was a European Starling. I would like to point out something pretty cool about those kinds of birds. Well, they can pretty much talk just like we do, I mean they can only minic but indeed, people do keep them as pets. In NJ, they are one of the most common birds, but they are also the #1 pest bird. They do carry diseases and cause property damage. That’s why they are considered pests. I was on a website that explained and illustrated the top 3 pest birds, and while I was finding out about the European Starling, the #2 pest bird just so happens to be the House Sparrow. Now, after reading this quote, “Its ability to nest in urban structures, eat urban scraps and a large breeding capacity are some of these adaptive traits.” (http://www.njnwcoa.com/birds.html) Once I read that, I was surprised, and I just had to read up more. I’m the kind of person that always keeps up on all the answers. So I hit “bing” and I did just that. Eventually, I came up with another website that said that there was a House Sparrow and a scientist went through its stomach to find that it has injested over 830 different foods. I think that’s incredible. Basically they’ll eat anything from hot dogs to cotton candy. They have absolutely no preference because of their foraging nature. They have also been around humans for centuries and have nowhere else to go. They are social toward us and some do not even fear us. They have made their way into restaurants and processing plants and just about anywhere where they can find food. The ultimate questions set before me, and since I enjoy looking at statistics, I really wanted to know, exactly what percentage of a House Sparrow’s diet is table scraps? That’s when I started to really get into some further research. On a study using regurgirated samples on House Sparrows, seeds, insects, fruits, and grains that was in the diet was successfully recorded. The percentages were shown on the website. However, there was no record of any table waste because the food was digested too quickly. I was so surprised that I saw that statement. I can’t see how those sparrows survive by eating those kinds of foods but they do. They truly do. In rural areas though, they typically eat only livestock feed, grains, fruits and insects but in urban areas, their diet is mostly seeds, bread, and other foods that people provide or leave to them. I can officially say that House Sparrows are adaptable in our world for centuries because we are here to take care of them. In places where there are lots of people, there are lots of House Sparrows. On the other hand, in places where there are sparse numbers of people, there are sparse numbers of House Sparrows. One of these days I would like to get a House Sparrow of my own as a pet. I am going to give it the life its always dreamed of. Well, that won’t be years down the road unfortunately, since I do get really busy these days. If I find one that’s injured though, I’ll certainly be more than ready to undertake the task of taking care of it.
Well, I’m sick to my stomach only because there are still questions that still mind-boggle me about House Sparrows. I’ve done about 10 hours of research and I believe that these questions will remain a mystery. In the meantime, if you would like to answer them, feel free. I would like to know what their life span is in urban areas, because even though House Sparrows can live up to 12 years, the life expantacy is only 2 or 3 years. The population density is quite high in metropolitan areas, so I imagine that since a lot are reproducing, that they are doing quite well. I have read a lot of things, such as human intervention, bacteria, and radiation from cell phones shorten their life span. However, these could only be some of the causes and I always wonder whatever could be the real truth? Could the foods that they are eating play a part of it?
The stress of researching has only made me sick and even I can’t even eat as much sweets and stuff anymore.