Bird of the Week: Invasion of the House Sparrows
Tuesday, July 11th, 2006
The House Sparrow is a tough, adaptable species that has become a North American de facto standard. Look out any window, stare at any telephone line or check the pavement next to any hotdog vendor and chances are you’ll see four or five or fifty of these things. Though they seem to own the place, House Sparrows are a fairly recent import in North America. It is said they were first introduced by Nicholas Pike in 1850 when he brought eight pairs over from England and released them in Central Park. It took several tries, but within a few years, House Sparrows learned how to make a go of things in North America — largely by eating grains, animal feed and feasting upon horse dung and garbage in cities. It is estimated that there are at least 150 million House Sparrows in North America today.
The House Sparrow and other European species was introduced for both esthetic and environmental reasons. Pike and others mistakenly expected the birds to help control worm infestations in forests. Between 1872 and 1874, the Cincinnati Acclimatization Society introduced 4000 European songbirds (18 species), but only House Sparrows and Starlings found a foothold and spread. They wanted to “aid people against the encroachment of insects” and to make sure that the “ennobling influence of the song of birds will be felt by the inhabitants”. Unfortunately, these exotic introductions helped cause a major decline in the population of North American native songbirds by driving away Bluebirds, swallows, warblers and other species. It is sadly ironic that because House Sparrows are primarily seed-eaters, their introduction in North America actually encouraged more widespread insect infestations.
A few years ago, Graeme Gibson wrote an interesting book called The Bedside Book of Birds: an Avian Miscellany. It’s a collection of writings from many places and times that deal with the symbolism of birds. I’d like to suggest that in North America, at least, the House Sparrow has nothing to do with symbolism and everything to do with realism. The lowly House Sparrow is more of a mirror — a direct reflection of our strivings and our capacity for colossal error.
