Introducing the Birdorable Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Cute Birdorable Eurasian Tree Sparrow

We've added a few new Birdorable birds this week, the first one being this Eurasian Tree Sparrow. In eastern Asia this cute little bird is widespread in towns and cities, but in Europe, where the House Sparrow is occupying the cities, it is a bird of wooded areas and open countryside. It is not an endangered bird globally, but it is declining in western Europe due to change in farming practices and use of herbicides. There is also a small population of about 15,000 birds in the United States, around St. Louis and parts of Illinois and Iowa. These birds, believe it or not, are descendants of 12 birds taken over from Germany that were released in 1870 in an attempt to enhance the North American avifauna. The birds were set free in Lafayette Park in St. Louis by a local bird dealer. Other European birds were also released, including Goldfinches and Chaffinches, but only the Eurasian Tree Sparrow successfully established a breeding population. If you're ever in St. Louis and want to find a Eurasian Tree Sparrow you can find some good instructions here.

Photo of Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Comments

Canaduck on June 23, 2009 at 7:24 PM wrote:
Interesting! I didn't know anything about this bird!
Ashira on June 24, 2009 at 3:18 PM wrote:
Adorable, as always! <3
stan pratt on April 26, 2011 at 12:15 PM wrote:
pair currently residing in Bolton landing , NY since December 2010...

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published

Cool Facts about Cedar Waxwings

Here are some cool facts about the Cedar Waxwing: Cedar Waxwings are named for the waxy red tips on the end of their secondary feathers. The number of wax tips and their size increase as the bird...

2015 Bonanza Bird #2: Kagu

Today our Birdorable Bonanza: 2015 Advent Edition continues with an unusual heron-like bird endemic to New Caledonia: the Kagu. The Kagu is a flightless bird with a pearly-grey plumage and bright orange legs and bill. The eyes are dark red. Kagus have a...

Black-legged Kittiwake

This week we've added another cute bird to Birdorable: the Black-legged Kittiwake. The above photo of cliffs in Ireland shows an adult Kittiwake on the left and a juvenile on the right. Juvenile individuals have black markings on the wings,...

Happy Pi Day

Today is Pi Day. Not the sweet and delicious kind, but π as in the mathematical number "3.1415926...", hence it is celebrated on March 14th, or 3/14 on the American calendar. The first Pi Day was held at the San Francisco Exploratorium in 1988 with people marching around...