A Symposium on the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the European Tree Sparrow (P. montanus) in North America S. Charles Kendeigh

The Auk ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-861
Author(s):  
Larry L. Wolf
2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Węgrzynowicz

Abstract The occupation of nest-boxes by House- and Tree Sparrow in Warsaw was investigated in 2005-2009 and in 2012. Riparian forests, younger and older parks in downtown, and housing estates were included in the study as 4 types of habitats corresponding to the urbanization gradient of Warsaw. 1035 inspections of nest-boxes suitable for both species (type A) were carried out during the breeding period and 345 nest-boxes of other types were inspected after the breeding period. In order to determine the importance of nest-boxes for both species on different plots, obtained data were analyzed using Nest-box Importance Coefficient (NIC). This coefficient describes species-specific rate of occupation of nest-boxes as well as the contribution of the pairs nesting in them. Tree Sparrow occupied a total of 33% of A-type nest-boxes, its densities were positively correlated with the number of nest-boxes, and seasonal differences in occupation rate were low for this species. The NIC and the rate of nest-box occupation for Tree Sparrow decreased along an urbanization gradient. House Sparrow used nest-boxes very rarely, only in older parks and some housing estates. Total rate of nest-box occupation for House Sparrow in studied plots was 4%, and NIC was relatively low. However, locally, installation of nest-boxes limited House Sparrow decline caused by reduced availability of its typical nest sites. Both species used only A-type nest boxes. The rate of nest-box occupation by House Sparrow decreased sharply since 1980s, and opposite trend was observed for Tree Sparrow. These alterations are consistent with the general changes in both species populations in Warsaw in recent decades: decrease in House Sparrow and increase in Tree Sparrow number. The presented results suggest that loss of nest sites may not be the main reason of decrease in House Sparrow population in Warsaw. Additionally, House Sparrow decline leads to increase in nest sites (including nest-boxes) available for Tree Sparrow, what may contribute to the expansion of the latter species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 123-131
Author(s):  
R.T. Tewelde ◽  
◽  
S.P. Gaponov ◽  

In Voronezh, 14 species of parasitic insects were found in sparrows and their nests during 2017–2020. It was found 6 species of chewing lice: Menacanthus eurysternus Giebel, 1874, Ricinus fringillae De Geer, 1778, Sturnidoecus ruficeps Giebel, 1866, Brueelia subtilis Giebel, 1874, B. borini Lunkaschu, 1970, and Philopterus montani Zlotorzycka, 1964. Among them, Menacanthus eurysternus was the dominant species for the House Sparrow (dominance 21.70 %, prevalence 10.00) while B. subtilis (dominance 18.60 %, prevalence 8.00) and B. borini (dominance 16.29 %, prevalence 6.00) were subdominant. For the European Tree Sparrow, the dominant species were B. borini (dominance 22.07 %, prevalence 8.00) and Ph. montani (dominance 22.07 %, prevalence 10.6). All six chewing lice species were observed for the first time in Voronezh and the Central Black Soil Region of Russia. Three species of fleas – Ceratophillus gallinae (Schrank, 1803), C. fringillae Walker, 1856, and C. tribulus Jordan, 1926) – were registered. The dominant flea species was C. gallinae (for the House Sparrow, dominance was 67.13 %, prevalence 45.00; for the Tree Sparrow, dominance was 66.47 %, prevalence 73.33). Abundance of fleas for House Sparrow nestlings was 0.724, and 1.153 for Tree Sparrow nestlings. Parasitic flies were represented by five species: Ornithomya avicularia (Linnaeus, 1758), O. fringillina Curtis, 1836, O. chloropus Bergroth 1901 (Hippoboscidae), Protocalliphora azurea Fll., 1817, and Trypocalliphora braueri (Hendel, 1901) (Calliphoridae). Among louse flies O. avicularia was the dominant species (for House sparrow, dominance was 85.93 %, prevalence 53.00; for Tree Sparrow, dominance was 68.64 %, prevalence 20.00). Larvae of P. azurea were found in 13.00 % of House Sparrow nests and in 15.00 % of Tree Sparrow nests. For House Sparrow nestlings, intensity was 3.42 % with abundance 0.30, while for Tree Sparrow nestlings, intensity was 0.15 % with abundance 2.05. Larvae of T. braueri were found in 31.00 % of House Sparrow nests and in 40.00 % of Tree Sparrow nests. For House Sparrow nestlings, intensity was 0.164 with abundance 0.088. For Tree Sparrow nestlings, intensity was 0.106 with abundance 0.220. Significant fluctuations of prevalence and abundance of the larvae in different years were found.


2013 ◽  
Vol 145 (6) ◽  
pp. 668-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaylee Byers ◽  
Heather Proctor

AbstractHouse sparrows (Passer domesticus(Linnaeus), Aves: Passeridae) were introduced into eastern North America in the mid 1800s and have been expanding their range since then. We collected sparrows from two sites in Alberta, Canada (Edmonton: 58 birds; Onefour: 13 birds), and compared symbiont richness and prevalence between them and between Alberta and two states in the United States of America. We found 17 species of symbionts: 13 mites, three insects, and one trematode. Richness of symbionts in Alberta was very similar to that in the United States of America sites. The most striking difference was absence of the feather miteProctophyllodes troncatusRobin (Acari: Proctophyllodidae) on sampled hosts in Alberta.


2021 ◽  
Vol 132 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Liam A. Berigan ◽  
Emma I. Greig ◽  
David N. Bonter

2007 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. SEITZ

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.


2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter E. Lowther ◽  
Calvin L. Cink

1977 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 247-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Farner ◽  
Richard S. Donham ◽  
Robert A. Lewis ◽  
Philip W. Mattocks ◽  
Thomas R. Darden ◽  
...  

The Condor ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Maier ◽  
Richard M. Degraaf

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.


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