scholarly journals Roosting patterns of House Sparrow Passer domesticus Linn., 1758 (Aves: Passeridae) in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 20209-20217
Author(s):  
Foram P. Patel ◽  
Pravinsang P. Dodia
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Artificial Nest ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
The World

The House Sparrow Passer domesticus is widely distributed across the world, and local alarming declines in sparrow populations have prompted studies focused on this species. An understanding of fundamental life history aspects such as roosting patterns is necessary for the development of efficient conservation strategies. This study examined House Sparrow roosting patterns in urban, suburban and rural areas of Bhavnagar during 2017–2018. Potential roosting sites were identified, and peak arrival/ departure times and roosting duration of sparrows were recorded. We found that peak arrival and departure times were correlated with solar timings, indicating a strong influence of photoperiod on sparrow behaviour. Little variation was observed in sparrow arrival and departure times across the urban, suburban and rural gradient. However, arrival duration was significantly larger in urban and suburban areas. This may be due to the restricted availability of suitable patches within these habitats, requiring birds to spend more time foraging. House Sparrows mostly preferred thick vegetation for pre-roosting activities and roosting, and the loss of thick vegetation poses a threat to sparrow populations worldwide. In addition to increasing nesting opportunities by providing artificial nest sites, the importance of retaining appropriate habitats should be a major focus of conservation strategies.

Nestling Of House Sparrow Passer Domesticus In Nest Boxes In Zielona Góra Preliminary Report

2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-26
Author(s):  
Damian Markulak
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Report ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Nest Box ◽  
European Cities ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
Nesting Sites

Abstract The population of House Sparrows in most of European cities declined in the end of the XX century (De Laet & Summers-Smith 2007). One of the presumable reasons of this decline is loss of nest sites. The House sparrow is a secondary hole-nester (Anderson 2006) and places its nest in holes of buildings, shrubs and nest boxes. The rate of nest box occupation depends on the location and competition with other species (Anderson T.R. 2006). The aim of this study was to investigate the rate of nest box occupation by House sparrows in Zielona Góra, Western Poland, which can provide information about the availability of nesting sites.

scholarly journals Status survey and conservation of the House Sparrow Passer domesticus (Aves: Passeriformes: Passeridae) through public participation in Kannur, Kerala, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 12098
Author(s):  
R. Roshnath ◽  
C. P. Arjun ◽  
J. Ashli ◽  
D. Sethu ◽  
P. Gokul
Keyword(s):  
Public Participation ◽  
Questionnaire Survey ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Forest Department ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
The Public ◽  
Nest Boxes ◽  
The World ◽  
Status Survey

House Sparrows Passer domesticus are one of the most widespread passerines in the world.  A survey was conducted to find out their status in Kannur District, Kerala.  The survey recorded 553 sparrows in 35 sites in the district.  The perspectives of the public were recorded through a questionnaire survey and conservational inputs from the public were noted.  Most of the respondents (47%) suggested the provision of nest boxes for the enhanced breeding of sparrows.  Thus, our NGO along with the support of students, the public and the Kerala Forest Department, placed 100 nest boxes in various identified sparrow dwelling places in the district and it was found effective in the conservation of sparrows. 

Three hundred years of House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) persecution in Germany

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. SEITZ
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Second World War ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
World War ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Urban And Rural Areas ◽  
Second World

Modernization of agriculture, economic development and population increase after the end of the Thirty Years' War caused authorities in many parts of Germany to decree the eradication of so-called pest animals, including the House Sparrow. Farmers were given targets, and had to deliver the heads of sparrows in proportion to the size of their farms or pay fines. At the end of the eighteenth century German ornithologists argued against the eradication of the sparrows. During the mid-nineteenth century, C. L. Gloger, the pioneer of bird protection in Germany, emphasized the value of the House Sparrow in controlling insect plagues. Many decrees were abolished because either they had not been obeyed, or had resulted in people protecting sparrows so that they always had enough for their “deliveries”. Surprisingly, various ornithologists, including Ernst Hartert and the most famous German bird conservationist Freiherr Berlepsch, joined in the war against sparrows at the beginning of the twentieth century, because sparrows were regarded as competitors of more useful bird species. After the Second World War, sparrows were poisoned in large numbers. Persecution of sparrows ended in Germany in the 1970s. The long period of persecution had a significant but not long-lasting impact on House Sparrow populations, and therefore cannot be regarded as a factor in the recent decline of this species in urban and rural areas of western and central Europe.

scholarly journals Differences in Depredation by Small Predators Limit the Use of Plasticine and Zebra Finch Eggs in Artificial-Nest Studies

The Condor ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Maier ◽  
Richard M. Degraaf
Keyword(s):  
Small Mammals ◽  
Zebra Finch ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Peromyscus Leucopus ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Taeniopygia Guttata ◽  
Artificial Nest ◽  
Neotropical Migrant ◽  
Passerine Species

Abstract Small mammals, such as mice and voles, have been implicated as major egg predators of Neotropical migrant passerines by field studies using soft plasticine eggs or the very small eggs of Zebra Finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Nevertheless, the effort required to depredate these commonly used egg surrogates may be less than that required to depredate the larger, thicker-shelled eggs of most passerine species. To compare the depredation of these surrogates to that of the eggs of a mid-sized passerine by a ubiquitous small predator, we exposed dissimilar pairs of plasticine, Zebra Finch, and House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) eggs to captive white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). Plasticine eggs were marked by mice more than either kind of real egg, and Zebra Finch eggs were breached more often than House Sparrow eggs. We conclude that the use of either plasticine or Zebra Finch eggs may lead to overestimation of the ability or proclivity of small mammals to actually depredate the eggs of most passerines.

scholarly journals Electromagnetic Pollution as a Possible Explanation for the Decline of House Sparrows in Interaction with Other Factors

Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-337
Author(s):  
Alfonso Balmori
Keyword(s):  
Electromagnetic Radiation ◽  
Thermal Effects ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
The Other ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Electromagnetic Pollution ◽  
The Impact

In recent decades, there has been a decline of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), mainly in European cities, and several hypotheses have been proposed that attempt to determine the causes of this rapid decline. Previous studies indicated that house sparrows were significantly negatively associated with increasing electromagnetic radiation and sparrows disappeared from areas most polluted. In addition, there are many studies on the impact of radiation on other bird and non-bird species, as well as numerous laboratory studies that demonstrated detrimental effects at electric field strength levels that can be found in cities today. Electromagnetic radiation is the most plausible factor for multiple reasons, including that this is the only one that affects the other hypotheses proposed so far. It is a type of pollution that affects productivity, fertility, decreases insects (chicken feed), causes loss of habitat, decreases immunity and can promote disease. Additionally, the recent sparrow decline matches the deployment of mobile telephony networks. Further, there are known mechanisms of action for non-thermal effects of electromagnetic radiation that may affect sparrows causing their decline. Thus, electromagnetic radiation must be seriously considered as a factor for house sparrows’ decline, probably in synergy with the other factors previously proposed.

Glucose and amino acid absorption in house sparrow intestine and its dietary modulation

1996 ◽  
Vol 271 (3) ◽  
pp. R561-R568 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Caviedes-Vidal ◽  
W. H. Karasov
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Uptake ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Glucose Absorption ◽  
Uptake Capacity ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
High Lipid ◽  
In Vivo Absorption ◽  
High Starch

We acclimated house sparrows (Passer domesticus; 26 g) to high-starch (HS), high-protein (HP), and high-lipid (HL) diets and tested the predictions that uptake of D-glucose and amino acids will be increased with increased levels of dietary carbohydrate and protein, respectively. HS birds had lower mediated D-glucose uptake rate than HP birds. Total uptake of L-leucine at low concentration (0.01 mM), but not of L-proline at 50mM, was increased by dietary protein. Measures of D-glucose maximal mediated uptake (1.2 +/- 0.2 nmol.min-1.mg-1) and intestinal mass (1 g) indicated that the intestine's mediated uptake capacity was only approximately 10% of the D-glucose absorbed at the whole animal level. This implied that nonmediated glucose absorption predominated. We applied a pharmacokinetic technique to measure in vivo absorption of L-glucose, the stereoisomer that does not interact with the Na(+)-glucose cotransporter. At least 75% of L-glucose that was ingested was apparently absorbed. This adds to the increasing evidence that substantial passive glucose absorption occurs in birds and may explain why mediated D-glucose uptake does not increase on high-carbohydrate diets.

scholarly journals Badge Size and Extra-Pair Fertilizations in the House Sparrow

The Condor ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Whitekiller ◽  
David F. Westneat ◽  
P. L. Schwagmeyer ◽  
Douglas W. Mock
Keyword(s):  
Dna Fingerprinting ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Genetic Benefits ◽  
Experimental Approaches ◽  
Badge Size

Abstract For House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, it has been proposed that the size of a male's throat badge correlates with his success in avoiding cuckoldry as well as obtaining extra-pair copulations (EPCs), and that females gain indirect (genetic) benefits from EPCs with large-badged males. Alternatively, female House Sparrows may engage in EPCs as a guard against their social mate's infertility. We used multi-locus DNA fingerprinting to examine paternity and found that among 41 broods and 136 offspring, 20% of the offspring were attributable to extra-pair fertilizations (EPFs). Forty-one percent of the 34 males were cuckolded; however, large-badged males were as likely to be cuckolded as small-badged males. Moreover, we found no evidence that large-badged males were inherently superior to small-badged males in terms of survivorship. We compared the prevalence of unhatched eggs in broods with and without extra-pair offspring to determine whether EPFs are associated with hatching failure. Although we detected no association between hatch failure and EPFs, enhanced fertility remains a plausible EPC benefit to females, but experimental approaches may be required to evaluate its significance.

Influence of habitat structure on the nesting height of birds in urban areas

1981 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 924-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Pierre L. Savard ◽  
J. Bruce Falls
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Habitat Structure ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Columba Livia ◽  
Nest Site Selection ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
American Robin ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Selection Of

The influence of habitat structure on the nesting height of five species of birds in an urban area was investigated. All rock dove (Columba livia) nests were on two-story buildings. The nesting height of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) was influenced by building height being higher in two-story residential areas than in areas with bungalows. House sparrows were more versatile than starlings in the selection of nest sites. They occasionally nested in coniferous foliage but preferred man-made structures. The height of American robin (Turdus migratorius) nests ranged widely in response to vertical distribution of foliage. The largest number of nests in a given plot always occurred in the layer of foliage just below the layer with the largest volume of foliage. Robins nested in coniferous foliage early in the breeding season but switched to deciduous foliage as the season progressed. Common grackles (Quiscalus quiscula) nested exclusively in coniferous foliage and their nesting height was also influenced by the vertical structure. Habitat structure was found to be the main determinant of nesting height of birds in the urban environment and height in itself was not an important feature in the nest site selection of the species studied. Disturbance as measured by house density had a relatively minor influence.

Experimental analysis of novelty responses in a bird assemblage inhabiting a suburban marsh

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (7) ◽  
pp. 974-980 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.I. Echeverría ◽  
Aldo Iván Vassallo ◽  
J.P. Isacch
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Molothrus Bonariensis ◽  
Suburban Areas ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Bird Assemblage

Suburban areas in the Pampas region of Argentina are inhabited by several bird species that sharply differ in their ability to exploit human-modified, urban areas. This bird assemblage includes species restricted to natural grasslands (e.g., Great Pampa Finch, Embernagra platensis (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)) as well as generalist, highly cosmopolitan species such as House Sparrow, Passer domesticus (L., 1758). We explored the role of certain aversive responses to novelty in shaping the marked differences in ecological plasticity among species in the assemblage. In field experiments, we tested for differences in feeding in the presence of artificial objects near feeders regularly replenished with seeds. In spite of their granivorous diet, some non-urbanized species did not use the feeders, possibly because of an extreme degree of aversion to novel situations. The group of birds that visited the feeders included both urbanized (N = 8) and non-urbanized (N = 2) species. We found that the presence of novel objects discouraged visitation to an otherwise attractive food source, although neophobia was weak for most species. However, we found unexpectedly high levels of neophobia in highly generalist, urbanized species such as House Sparrow and Shiny Cowbird, Molothrus bonariensis (J.F. Gmelin, 1789). This response is discussed in the context of the influence of post-fledging development in a relatively simple and predictable ecosystem versus that in urban areas.

scholarly journals Hard to fly the nest: A study of body condition and plumage quality in house sparrow fledglings

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlène Leloutre ◽  
Alice Gouzerh ◽  
Frédéric Angelier
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
House Sparrow ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Passer Domesticus ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
House Sparrows ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Probability Current ◽  
State Body

Abstract Contrary to the nestling phase, the post-fledging phase has been less studied probably because it is challenging to follow the chicks after they fledge. However, this phase is crucial to consider when focusing on the life cycle of individuals because it is associated with new demands: After leaving the nest, individuals have to find their own food and cope with a new set of previously unknown stressors. In this study, we aimed at better understanding how energetically demanding the post-fledging period is in house sparrows Passer domesticus by measuring several indices of a fledgling’s state (body condition, fat and muscle scores and plumage quality). If the energetic demands of the post-fledging period are greater than those of the adult life, we predicted that fledglings should be in lower condition and should have a plumage of lower quality relative to adults. Supporting this prediction, the condition and the plumage of fledglings differed dramatically from those of adults. Interestingly, this difference disappeared in autumn. Overall, our results suggest that the post-fledging period is probably one of the most energetically demanding of the life cycle in this species. Supporting this idea, the resighting probability of fledglings was lower relative to adults. However, resighting probability depends on many factors (mortality, dispersal, habitat use and behaviours) and future studies are necessary to tease apart their relative importance in determining resighting probability [Current Zoology 60 (4): 449–459, 2014].

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