{"id":4712,"date":"2016-03-31T22:18:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-31T22:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/?page_id=4712"},"modified":"2023-05-05T14:42:15","modified_gmt":"2023-05-05T18:42:15","slug":"eliminate-house-sparrows","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/resources\/eliminate-house-sparrows\/","title":{"rendered":"House Sparrows: Deadly Foreign Invaders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Have House Sparrows Invaded Your Bird House?<\/h2>\n

A few dozen English House Sparrows were imported to North America<\/a> in the 1850s. Just thirty years later, House Sparrows were already being considered a serious pest to agriculture and to native species of birds. By 1900, House Sparrows could be found in most of the continental US.<\/p>\n

How did that happen so fast? House Sparrows are fierce competitors and vigorous colonizers. Because they don’t migrate, they nest early; beating out native songbirds to your bird houses. In one season, a pair will raise up to four broods of five, making\u2014count them\u2014TWENTY new House Sparrows<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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How to identify male and female House Sparrows. Illustration from Sialis.org<\/em>.
For help in identifying male or female English House Sparrows and their eggs, see Cornell Lab’s Sparrow reference page here.<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Aggressive, Injurious and Ruthless<\/em> Nest Occupation and Defense<\/h2>\n

House Sparrows will evict other species<\/strong> attempting to nest in their territory, by destroying eggs<\/strong>, killing nestlings<\/strong>, or even killing females<\/em><\/strong> that are incubating eggs.<\/p>\n

A male House Sparrow is more bonded with his nest site than his mate and will fiercely defend the nest and a small vicinity around it.<\/p>\n

House Sparrows must be discouraged from breeding<\/strong> in your nest boxes, otherwise they will only continue to rapidly increase and threaten our native species.<\/p>\n

So, what to do? Because these birds are non-native<\/strong>, laws governing trapping and interference with breeding do not apply<\/strong> to them, as they do to our native species. The decision is up to you when choosing strategy and tactics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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How to Evict House Sparrows from Your Bird House<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Passive methods:<\/strong><\/h3>\n