streetwise, me. i know where every crumb in this road is.
House sparrow says
Bird 10 of 30 · video, 18:19
House sparrow
Passer domesticus
The streetwise neighbour: loud, sociable, nesting right under your roof, and no longer a bird to take for granted.
- Small, 27.3 g
- Stays all year
- Building or eaves
- Hedge or shrub
- On a feeder or bird table
- In a hedge or shrub
About the house sparrow
Marks and dots
Tap a numbered dot, or a name in the list.
BTO: the female and young are more uniformly brown.
From egg to adult
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Egg
Eggsup to 5 eggs video, BTO agrees
Hatch after12–14 days video, BTO agrees
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Chick in the nest
In the nest for14.5–17 days≠BTOthe video says 14 days
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Young bird
The video does not describe young sparrows.
Adult
Male grey head, black bib; female and young brown (BTO)
Broods a year3 broods video, BTO agrees
BTO averages: 14 days incubating the eggs, then 16 days in the nest. Averages across nest records, so the figures above can differ a little.
At the table
- food scraps put out for them
The video does not say what house sparrows eat, other than that they scoop up food scraps put out for them.
This page mentions bird tables. Since April 2026 the RSPB and the BTO advise against them, and say to feed seeds and peanuts only from November to April. What changed, and why.
Through the year
House sparrow: around Jan to Dec; first eggs laid 27 Mar to 11 Jul, average 14 May (BTO); first chicks leave the nest 22 Apr to 12 Aug (worked out from BTO).
What to know about the house sparrow
Eight short notes in our own words. Each chip says what the note stands on, and links to its row in the table below.
What to look for
The video does not describe a sparrow's looks. BTO says the male is resplendent, with a grey head and a black bib.
Male and female
The video does not compare the sexes. BTO says the female and the young are more uniformly brown.
The young
The video does not describe young sparrows. BTO groups them with the female: more uniformly brown.
Song and call
A noisy, unmusical song heard often, and even louder than usual when a male is trying to impress a prospective mate.
Feeding
The video does not say what house sparrows eat, other than that they scoop up food scraps put out for them.
not in the video
Staying or leaving
Sparrows can be seen all year round. BTO agrees, and says they are found throughout Britain and Ireland except on the highest peaks.
In the garden
Once the third most abundant bird in Britain, and now in decline, with town populations hit hardest. The video wonders whether pollution, vehicle emissions especially, is to blame, which is a guess and not a finding. Such frequent breeding should help it survive, but this is no longer a bird to take for granted.
Sources and checks
Where every fact about the house sparrow came from
14 claims about the house sparrow: 4 checked, 5 from the video only,1 differ, 4 from a source only. How the grades work
| Claim, in our words | Video time | Grade | What the source says |
|---|---|---|---|
| BTO describes the male house sparrow as resplendent with a grey head and a black bib. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species. |
| BTO says the female and the young are more uniformly brown. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO's introduction to the species. |
| The sparrow's noisy, unmusical song is heard often, and more loudly when a male is trying to impress a prospective mate. | 18:52 | video only | |
| Nests are found close to the sparrow's human neighbours, under eaves, in roofs and in hedges. | 19:05 | video only | |
| Three or more broods a year.video: 3 broods | 19:12 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 2–3 broods (4 exceptionally) (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 2–3 |
| As many as five eggs each time.video: up to 5 eggs | 19:15 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 4–5 eggs (BTO typical)up to 5 sits between BTO's typical top (5) and the most BTO records (7) |
| The chicks hatch after 12 to 14 days.video: 12–14 days | 19:20 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 12–15 days (BTO typical)inside BTO's typical range of 12–15 |
| The young fly the nest when they are two weeks old.video: 14 days | 19:23 | ≠differs | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 14.5–17 days (BTO typical)outside BTO's typical range of 14.5–17, though inside the 12–19 BTO has observed |
| Sparrows can be seen all year round. | 18:52 | checked | BTO, read 2026-10-05BTO says house sparrows are found year round throughout Britain and Ireland, except on the highest peaks. |
| The house sparrow was once the third most abundant bird in Britain; urban populations seem to be declining most. | 18:19 | video only | |
| The video suggests pollution, particularly vehicle emissions, may be to blame for the decline. | 18:29 | video only | A suggestion in the video, not a finding. BTO's page names no cause. |
| Despite declining numbers, frequent breeding should ensure their survival, but the sparrow can no longer be taken for granted. | 19:26 | video only | |
| Adult weight, from ringing records: 27.3 g, adult average. | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: 27.3 g, adult average |
| Timing of the first clutch: first eggs laid around 14 May (27 Mar-11 Jul). | source only | source only | BTO, read 2026-10-05: first eggs laid around 14 May (27 Mar-11 Jul) |
Written in our own words after “British Birds in your Garden” by The Great British Channel, where the house sparrow starts at 18:19.Numbers are checked against the BTO's page for the house sparrow, read on 5 October 2026. We are not connected to the channel or to the BTO.
More birbs: 30 so far, and more to come
The coins down the right of the screen are all 30. Tap one to go to that bird.