House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Passeridae
The stubby brown sparrow of parking lots, gas stations, and dumpsters. Not actually a sparrow — a weaver-finch (Passeridae), unrelated to native NJ sparrows. Aggressively takes over nest boxes intended for bluebirds and Tree Swallows and often kills the resident adults. Not protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
How to spot one.
6 inches, stocky and short-tailed
Male: gray crown, chestnut nape, black bib on throat and chest, buff cheeks
Female: plain buff-brown overall with pale eyebrow, streaked back
Thick conical bill
Almost always found near buildings
What it sounds like.
A monotonous 'cheep!' repeated. Not a musical song.
How it lives.
Highly social; nests in colonies. Cavity nesters that will destroy the eggs and kill the nestlings of native cavity-nesters — the female sparrow will actually enter a Tree Swallow or bluebird box and peck the adults to death. Nearly always associated with human structures; almost never found deep in unmanaged habitat.
The spec sheet.
- Status
- Non-native invasive
- Size
- 5.9–6.7 inches
- Present in NJ
- Year-round
- Native to NJ
- No — see origin
- Origin
- Native to Europe and northern Africa. Introduced to Brooklyn, NY, in 1851 (and again several times over the following decade) by settlers who wanted a familiar bird from home. Spread rapidly across the continent.
- Conservation status
- invasive
- Family
- Passeridae
What it eats.
Diet often shifts dramatically between breeding season and the rest of the year — especially for insectivorous birds that pivot to native berries in fall and winter.
Summer / breeding season
Grain, weed seeds, discarded human food
Some insects fed to nestlings
Fall / winter
Bread crumbs, spilled grain, birdseed
Any human-provided food source
What it needs.
Native plants that feed this bird or provide shelter. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.
Weed and grain seeds
Seed source
Buildings and structures
Cover / habitat
Not federally protected. Global populations are declining slightly, largely from changing agricultural practices, but abundant in North America. Nest box managers may legally remove House Sparrow nests and eggs.
NestWatch (Cornell) · North American Bluebird Society