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House SparrowSize: 14-18 cm Weight: 24-40 g |
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Taxonomy, classification |
See House Sparrow
at Wikipedia 
.
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Sightings |
House Sparrows are permanent residents on the campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, Oman. First seen by us there in August 2009.
Spotted in Jebel Akhdar, south-west of Muscat, in February 2010, at elevations of well above 2000 m.
Also spotted before in various parts of Europe.
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Photos |
Frontal view of a male House Sparrow in breeding plumage
Lateral view of a male House Sparrow in non-breeding plumage,
which is much less conspicuous, with less contrast than the
breeding plumage
Here a male House Sparrow feeding on the ground
Male bird hard on the brakes going downhill
Close-up frontal view
Male House Sparrows taking a bath
Here a look into a group of female House Sparrows' "bathroom"
Lateral view of a female House Sparrow feeding on the ground
Lateral view of a female House Sparrow feeding on the ground,
here in different light conditions
Fledgling House Sparrow checking out what is edible and what is not,
while at the same time trying not to fall off the twig
Partly obscured view of a fledgling House Sparrow
Frontal view of a young House Sparrow seeing itself confronted with
the harsh reality of living in Arabia - heat and thirst
Here a young House Sparrow in the same situation, seen from the side
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "malunna" = Nest [Aboriginal] |
We have no photo of a nest just yet, but the following attempt by a male to find material for lining its nest.
This male House Sparrow seems to size up the feather it wants to use
Grabbing it is no problem at all, but in the end air resistance
proved too much and the bird let the feather fall again
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Behaviour |
House Sparrows are very sociable birds
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Food, Diet |
Like all finches, House Sparrows are mainly seed-eaters. But we have seen them hunt insects as well.
