Here are my Birdtober posts so far. At most of these posts, you can find the Birdtober prompts I'm using. There's a US version, an international version, and an all-Uganda version created by a colleague at school.
Week 1 (October 1-4): (Plush-crested Jay, American Robin, Mountain Bluebird, Giant Kingfisher)
Week 2: (October 5 - 10): (Eastern Plantain-eater, Red-winged Blackbird, Cardinals, Black-headed Heron, Gray Crowned-Crane, Speckled Mousebird)
Week 3:
Today's bird is the House Sparrow, which some of have called the most widely dispersed wild bird. This is an interesting article about how House Sparrows came to live all over the world. At least part of the story is that unlike most other birds, House Sparrows can digest gluten. They live near humans and consume food humans drop or throw away. These were some of the first birds I learned to identify in Haiti, since our Snack Shop at school was overrun with them. I remember googling "brown bird with black bib" because I didn't know what they were.
In the United States, House Sparrows are considered pests by many, and there have been numerous attempts to eradicate them. All have failed miserably. You can read more about that here. I understand why people don't like these birds, and I know that they squeeze out native birds by overtaking habitat and food supply. But you have to admire the way they adapt to wherever they find themselves, and look how lovely they are, with their warm chocolatey brown coloring (even eBird uses the word "cute"). In her book The Urban Bestiary: Encountering the Everyday Wild, Lyanda Lynn Haupt quotes the scientist Konrad Lorenz: "I never kill birds. To a certain extent, I am a friend of successful species. This goes so far that I even like weeds."
Photo Source: eBird.com
House Sparrow
These birds live most everywhere,
Hitched rides on ships to here and there,
Adapted to each place they found
And started eating off the ground.
Busy, noisy, finding seeds,
Growing, spreading just like weeds.
©Ruth Bowen Hersey
Matt at Radio, Rhythm and Rhyme has today's roundup.
7 comments:
We have so many of these sparrows around here, but I've never heard of them being considered pests!
Aww, just knowing they are disparaged as pests makes me root for them even more! And I am giggling about gluten-free birds...who knew!
Now I have a new bird to watch for in NC. We have cardinals and goldfinches, but I'm not sure that I've spotted a house sparrow. I found the reason why they thrive almost anywhere interesting, and I like how you wove the facts you learned into your rhyming poem!
They ARE cute and feisty survivors. Lovely recognition of them in your poem.
I'm among the group that has little love for house sparrows. They are bullies to my beloved backyard bluebirds, and I imagine other birds as well. Since there are two sides to every story, I found your poem to be very straightforward, allowing readers to make their own decision. Thanks for sharing, but house sparrows are one bird I could without.
I'm with Rose, because I've tended bluebird boxes and have seen the nasty side of house sparrow. And yet, I admire their tenacity.
Ruth, thanks for the information about the house sparrow. Your poem shares some facts and the last line is interesting to me since I really don't know much about birds.
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