Sparrows are physically similar to other seed-eating birds, such as finches. The house sparrow (or English sparrow) is a member of the weaver bird family unlike the native North American species called sparrows, which belong to the finch family. House Sparrows are found indigenously in Europe, Africa and Asia, highly gregarious they are found in cities and settled rural areas; they are rarely seen away from human habitation.. In Australia and the Americas, early settlers imported some species which quickly naturalized, particularly in urban areas. The bird was first introduced into the United States about 1850 to combat cankerworms, and it rapidly became widespread (with a population estimated as high as 400 million). In the US, the House Sparrow is one of three birds not protected by law (the others are the Common Starling and Rock Dove or Pigeon). House Sparrows commonly kill adult Bluebirds and other native cavity nesters and their young and smash their eggs.
The case though is not in favor of sparrows in urbanized and metropolitan cities, these congested concrete cities have given no space for birds, and sparrows have become rare sight in Indian cities. I read about one Mr. Prakash Vijay of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district who is trying to help sparrows find space, an incident that killed a sparrow by a ceiling fans blades inspired him to do something for the these birds. I read this news cl
ipping on the Net about him: In a unique gesture to showcase his special care for birds, he has resolved to promote nest culture. He has taken to creating artificial nests with plaster of Paris, which enable people to accommodate a small space for birds to nestle at their residential places. In the wake of growing number of small flats, felling of trees in the name of urbanization or development and limited water sources left in the open for birds or animals, these artificial nests offer a good alternative for birds to nestle and survive. Apprehending that many sparrows and other birds may one day meet the similar fate of vultures whose number has drastically dwindled here, Prakash felt driven to do something for the little birds. Besides, Prakash motivates other residents to patronize the ‘nest culture’ so that many birds may have a decent and safe place to stay and breed.
I guess all of us do recall the time when sparrows were in abundance with constant chipping sound they made. Most household did keep some food for birds, and sparrows did make messy nest against the window ventilation or electricity meters, in olden houses the photo frames that were hung at an angle. And yes sparrows hit by rotating fan blades were also common occurrence. These lines (poem) by Ranjit lal on sparrows
There was a handsome young sparrow,
Who thought he could fly like an arrow,
Through fan blade that flashed,
But alack and alas,
The gap between them was too narrow!
Another one here is by none other than William Wordsworth on joy of watching Sparrows nest…
The Sparrow's Nest
Behold, within the leafy shade,
Those bright blue eggs together laid!
On me the chance-discovered sight
Gleamed like a vision of delight.
I started---seeming to espy
The home and sheltered bed,
The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by
My Father' house, in wet or dry
My sister Emmeline and I
Together visited.
She looked at it and seemed to fear it;
Dreading, tho' wishing, to be near it:
Such heart was in her, being then
A little Prattler among men.
The Blessing of my later year
Was with me when a boy:
She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
And humble care, and delicate fears;
A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;
And love, and thought, and joy.
I read the above poem few times and the more you read more it starts to grow on you, the innocent years of childhood.
There is an interesting piece of information here in context to sparrows. China doesn’t have a national bird, so Since 2003, the National Forestry Bureau and China Wildlife Protection Association have been soliciting (official and serious) candidates from various provinces for a National Bird of China. The most popular candidates have been the red-crowned crane, the magpie, the hwamei, and the golden pheasant, with the crane being the most popular. However, allegedly due to the Latin name of the crane being Grus japonensis (Japanese crane), the decision to name a national bird has been delayed!!. How can Chinese national bird have a ‘Japan’ in its name is the strange thinking?!!. Even birds cannot be isolated from historical wrongs, amusing. In the meantime someone decided to hold an ad-hoc online poll where anybody can vote. Among 10 common birds found in China, the house sparrow emerged as the “winner”!!. That set of some interesting debate among the netizens. Here I have copied few comments, some are quite hilarious
jxsd512 wrote: In my mind, the selection of a national bird doesn’t need to be restricted to those birds with high pedigree and beautiful coat. Our standard of selection shouldn’t be restricted to the external qualities (of birds), but also the internal qualities are important. And many common folks don’t know much about birds, whether it is a crane, a peacock, a pheasant or whatever, I’ve only seen them on TV and don’t know much about them.
But the sparrow is different. First, they are like much of the Chinese commonfolk: they have a superb ability to survive and refuse to be eliminated; they have a strength of character — just like the original poster said earlier — an indefatigable spirit. Whereas many precious birds easily go extinct if they are not careful. Bottom line, a national bird doesn’t need to be pretty. What it needs to have is spirit, a kind that is similar to that of the people of this country.
allwin2008
wrote: Our country is a great and proud country, so we must choose a grandiose national bird, one with a deep moral story. Only the phoenix or the peacock or such high caliber birds can take the job. Sparrows are just little clowns. If they can be the national bird, it would be a great joke. So what do you think?
Hurriedly Wuhan wrote: If I had to choose, I would rather choose the sparrow. 1. Sparrows cannot be kept. Those caught in cages or leashed by a leg all end up refusing to eat or drink and die that way. I think that is a kind of strength of character. 2. Sparrows don’t have pretty feathers or sweet cries, but they quietly fight for daily livelihood. I think this is very much like the behavior of Chinese people. 3. Sparrows are the birds most intertwined with common Chinese folks. Who hasn’t come in contact with sparrows, from childhood to adulthood?
FOARP Says I would have thought the peacock more China’s style, given its imperial history, particularly with the award of peacock-feathers being a sign of favour from the emperor and with the way they feature prominently in paintings from ancient times. However, the reasons why you might not want to choose a bird synonymous with gaudy display are obvious. Being both numerous and assiduous, I can see why people might want to choose the sparrow. However, sparrows occur naturally across Eurasia and Africa, and early European settlers imported them into the Americas and Australasia, so you would have to find a particular subspecies native to China for it to be truly representative. Strangely enough I only just found out a couple of weeks ago from a closet bird watching friend of mine (I’d known him for years but had had no idea that he was a secret bird watcher) that the Robin is the UK’s national bird - personally I had always thought of the British Bulldog as a far better national symbol The Bald Eagle might be America’s symbol, the French fighting Cock may be representative of France, and the Kiwi bird may recognizably stand for New Zealand, but I can’t think of many other countries where there is a real connection in the mind between the country and its national bird. If the sparrow is chosen I doubt such a link will exist in the minds of the Chinese people, a more colorful bird must be chosen Otherwise, both the Panda and the mythical Chinese Dragon are good symbols of China.
A-gA-gu Says: I love birds, especially urban birds that more people get a chance to have contact with. They are incredibly adept at surviving in urban conditions. That does not make the bird better or worse, of course; it’s just a particular fact about their diet and ability to navigate around an invasive species (people)
.
My grandpa used to call House Sparrows “worthless birds,” because they multiply so much (at least 3 broods a season) and are so prevalent, stealing the nests of other birds and driving out the rarer Bluebirds from his area.
In short, I like the sparrow just fine, and think it would make a fine bird for any country (it is now the most widely distributed wild bird in the world). But at the same time, I understand people’s desire to use “majestic” birds as a national bird. Look at how the Formosan Magpie won out for Taiwan’s national bird vote, even though few people have ever seen one! I thought the White Wagtail would have been a much cooler choice, but it wasn’t even on the short list because it’s not endemic to Taiwan.
Allen Says: I propose China adapt the Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) as PRC’s national bird! It is a more beautiful bird than the sparrow. It would make it that much more difficult for Taiwan to secede from China proper.
Those were comments from many I chose randomly. And how we thought national birds were the easiest thing to decide!!. Interesting the things that occupy people.
The painting of sparrows here is by Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927), one of the greatest American ornithologist and
bird artist. In this context this blogger feels it is important to write few words on this amazing man. A significant part of Fuertes inspiration came from the work of John James Audubon whose Birds of America he pored over at the Ithaca Public Library. He became the first person to make a successful living exclusively as bird artist. Just as Audubon influenced every bird painter since the early 1800s by "drawing from life", Fuertes added to the tradition by presenting birds not only accurately, but also capturing their natural and behavioral characteristics. The extent of his influence is summed up by Roger Tory Peterson- influential bird artist of more recent times in US. "We can accurately say that there is a "Fuertes School" of bird painting even to this day, more than four decades after his death. Nearly all American bird artists have been influenced to some extent by the bird portraiture of Fuertes".
Much like Audubon in the early 1800s and Peterson in our own times, Fuertes had extensive knowledge of the natural history of birds. He participated in many foreign and domestic scientific expeditions, including trips to Jamaica, Colombia and other parts of South America, Ethiopia (then known as Abyssinia), Magdelene Islands, and Alaska. In addition to thousands of field sketches (representing 400 hundred species of birds) and illustrations that appeared in every major book on birds between 1896-1927, he contributed 3,500 specimen skins to science which are now at Cornell University (all info about Fuertes copied from the Net, emphasis added by the blogger).
The blog on Sparrows will not be complete without mention of autobiography of Salim Ali which is titled The fall of a Sparrow, this he wrote when he was 87years old!!. When he was a kid he shot down ‘unusually colored’ sparrows (yellow throated sparrows). Curious he asked his elders (incidentally he was an orphan), encouraged by his uncle he went to Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), where he saw stuffed birds and was hooked for life. As Ham
let say’s (in Shakespeare’s Hamlet) "There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow". In case of Salim Ali I would say divine providence, otherwise the world would have lost an amazing ornithologist. The term “Fall of Sparrow” also has an important understanding in Christianity. In the New Testament, Jesus reassures his followers that not even a sparrow can fall without God's notice, and that their own more significant suffering is certainly seen and potentially forestalled or redeemed by God (Luke 12:6; Matthew 10:29). Recently I also came across another book of the same title by Robert Hellenga, it’s about a father trying to come in terms with life after his daughter is killed by random bombing at railway station in Italy. The reviewer of the book quoted this line from one of the chapters that I thought was quite interesting "Death, in fact, is a condition of meaning. Without it human beings, like the Greek gods, would make no significant choices, confront no limitations."
The pics of sparrow were taken at Belur temple courtyard (Karnataka) and Khejdali (Bishnoi village, Rajasthan). The stamp on Sparrow is from Syria. The painting of sparrow is by Chen Jiayan from ancient China- Ming Dynasty (1368-1644AD)
The case though is not in favor of sparrows in urbanized and metropolitan cities, these congested concrete cities have given no space for birds, and sparrows have become rare sight in Indian cities. I read about one Mr. Prakash Vijay of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar district who is trying to help sparrows find space, an incident that killed a sparrow by a ceiling fans blades inspired him to do something for the these birds. I read this news cl
ipping on the Net about him: In a unique gesture to showcase his special care for birds, he has resolved to promote nest culture. He has taken to creating artificial nests with plaster of Paris, which enable people to accommodate a small space for birds to nestle at their residential places. In the wake of growing number of small flats, felling of trees in the name of urbanization or development and limited water sources left in the open for birds or animals, these artificial nests offer a good alternative for birds to nestle and survive. Apprehending that many sparrows and other birds may one day meet the similar fate of vultures whose number has drastically dwindled here, Prakash felt driven to do something for the little birds. Besides, Prakash motivates other residents to patronize the ‘nest culture’ so that many birds may have a decent and safe place to stay and breed.I guess all of us do recall the time when sparrows were in abundance with constant chipping sound they made. Most household did keep some food for birds, and sparrows did make messy nest against the window ventilation or electricity meters, in olden houses the photo frames that were hung at an angle. And yes sparrows hit by rotating fan blades were also common occurrence. These lines (poem) by Ranjit lal on sparrows
There was a handsome young sparrow,
Who thought he could fly like an arrow,
Through fan blade that flashed,
But alack and alas,
The gap between them was too narrow!
Another one here is by none other than William Wordsworth on joy of watching Sparrows nest…
The Sparrow's Nest
Behold, within the leafy shade,
Those bright blue eggs together laid!
On me the chance-discovered sight
Gleamed like a vision of delight.
I started---seeming to espy
The home and sheltered bed,
The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by
My Father' house, in wet or dry
My sister Emmeline and I
Together visited.
She looked at it and seemed to fear it;
Dreading, tho' wishing, to be near it:
Such heart was in her, being then
A little Prattler among men.
The Blessing of my later year
Was with me when a boy:
She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
And humble care, and delicate fears;
A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;
And love, and thought, and joy.
I read the above poem few times and the more you read more it starts to grow on you, the innocent years of childhood.
There is an interesting piece of information here in context to sparrows. China doesn’t have a national bird, so Since 2003, the National Forestry Bureau and China Wildlife Protection Association have been soliciting (official and serious) candidates from various provinces for a National Bird of China. The most popular candidates have been the red-crowned crane, the magpie, the hwamei, and the golden pheasant, with the crane being the most popular. However, allegedly due to the Latin name of the crane being Grus japonensis (Japanese crane), the decision to name a national bird has been delayed!!. How can Chinese national bird have a ‘Japan’ in its name is the strange thinking?!!. Even birds cannot be isolated from historical wrongs, amusing. In the meantime someone decided to hold an ad-hoc online poll where anybody can vote. Among 10 common birds found in China, the house sparrow emerged as the “winner”!!. That set of some interesting debate among the netizens. Here I have copied few comments, some are quite hilarious
jxsd512 wrote: In my mind, the selection of a national bird doesn’t need to be restricted to those birds with high pedigree and beautiful coat. Our standard of selection shouldn’t be restricted to the external qualities (of birds), but also the internal qualities are important. And many common folks don’t know much about birds, whether it is a crane, a peacock, a pheasant or whatever, I’ve only seen them on TV and don’t know much about them.
But the sparrow is different. First, they are like much of the Chinese commonfolk: they have a superb ability to survive and refuse to be eliminated; they have a strength of character — just like the original poster said earlier — an indefatigable spirit. Whereas many precious birds easily go extinct if they are not careful. Bottom line, a national bird doesn’t need to be pretty. What it needs to have is spirit, a kind that is similar to that of the people of this country.
allwin2008
wrote: Our country is a great and proud country, so we must choose a grandiose national bird, one with a deep moral story. Only the phoenix or the peacock or such high caliber birds can take the job. Sparrows are just little clowns. If they can be the national bird, it would be a great joke. So what do you think?Hurriedly Wuhan wrote: If I had to choose, I would rather choose the sparrow. 1. Sparrows cannot be kept. Those caught in cages or leashed by a leg all end up refusing to eat or drink and die that way. I think that is a kind of strength of character. 2. Sparrows don’t have pretty feathers or sweet cries, but they quietly fight for daily livelihood. I think this is very much like the behavior of Chinese people. 3. Sparrows are the birds most intertwined with common Chinese folks. Who hasn’t come in contact with sparrows, from childhood to adulthood?
FOARP Says I would have thought the peacock more China’s style, given its imperial history, particularly with the award of peacock-feathers being a sign of favour from the emperor and with the way they feature prominently in paintings from ancient times. However, the reasons why you might not want to choose a bird synonymous with gaudy display are obvious. Being both numerous and assiduous, I can see why people might want to choose the sparrow. However, sparrows occur naturally across Eurasia and Africa, and early European settlers imported them into the Americas and Australasia, so you would have to find a particular subspecies native to China for it to be truly representative. Strangely enough I only just found out a couple of weeks ago from a closet bird watching friend of mine (I’d known him for years but had had no idea that he was a secret bird watcher) that the Robin is the UK’s national bird - personally I had always thought of the British Bulldog as a far better national symbol The Bald Eagle might be America’s symbol, the French fighting Cock may be representative of France, and the Kiwi bird may recognizably stand for New Zealand, but I can’t think of many other countries where there is a real connection in the mind between the country and its national bird. If the sparrow is chosen I doubt such a link will exist in the minds of the Chinese people, a more colorful bird must be chosen Otherwise, both the Panda and the mythical Chinese Dragon are good symbols of China.
A-gA-gu Says: I love birds, especially urban birds that more people get a chance to have contact with. They are incredibly adept at surviving in urban conditions. That does not make the bird better or worse, of course; it’s just a particular fact about their diet and ability to navigate around an invasive species (people)
. My grandpa used to call House Sparrows “worthless birds,” because they multiply so much (at least 3 broods a season) and are so prevalent, stealing the nests of other birds and driving out the rarer Bluebirds from his area.
In short, I like the sparrow just fine, and think it would make a fine bird for any country (it is now the most widely distributed wild bird in the world). But at the same time, I understand people’s desire to use “majestic” birds as a national bird. Look at how the Formosan Magpie won out for Taiwan’s national bird vote, even though few people have ever seen one! I thought the White Wagtail would have been a much cooler choice, but it wasn’t even on the short list because it’s not endemic to Taiwan.
Allen Says: I propose China adapt the Formosan Blue Magpie (Urocissa caerulea) as PRC’s national bird! It is a more beautiful bird than the sparrow. It would make it that much more difficult for Taiwan to secede from China proper.
Those were comments from many I chose randomly. And how we thought national birds were the easiest thing to decide!!. Interesting the things that occupy people.
The painting of sparrows here is by Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927), one of the greatest American ornithologist and
bird artist. In this context this blogger feels it is important to write few words on this amazing man. A significant part of Fuertes inspiration came from the work of John James Audubon whose Birds of America he pored over at the Ithaca Public Library. He became the first person to make a successful living exclusively as bird artist. Just as Audubon influenced every bird painter since the early 1800s by "drawing from life", Fuertes added to the tradition by presenting birds not only accurately, but also capturing their natural and behavioral characteristics. The extent of his influence is summed up by Roger Tory Peterson- influential bird artist of more recent times in US. "We can accurately say that there is a "Fuertes School" of bird painting even to this day, more than four decades after his death. Nearly all American bird artists have been influenced to some extent by the bird portraiture of Fuertes".Much like Audubon in the early 1800s and Peterson in our own times, Fuertes had extensive knowledge of the natural history of birds. He participated in many foreign and domestic scientific expeditions, including trips to Jamaica, Colombia and other parts of South America, Ethiopia (then known as Abyssinia), Magdelene Islands, and Alaska. In addition to thousands of field sketches (representing 400 hundred species of birds) and illustrations that appeared in every major book on birds between 1896-1927, he contributed 3,500 specimen skins to science which are now at Cornell University (all info about Fuertes copied from the Net, emphasis added by the blogger).
The blog on Sparrows will not be complete without mention of autobiography of Salim Ali which is titled The fall of a Sparrow, this he wrote when he was 87years old!!. When he was a kid he shot down ‘unusually colored’ sparrows (yellow throated sparrows). Curious he asked his elders (incidentally he was an orphan), encouraged by his uncle he went to Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), where he saw stuffed birds and was hooked for life. As Ham
let say’s (in Shakespeare’s Hamlet) "There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow". In case of Salim Ali I would say divine providence, otherwise the world would have lost an amazing ornithologist. The term “Fall of Sparrow” also has an important understanding in Christianity. In the New Testament, Jesus reassures his followers that not even a sparrow can fall without God's notice, and that their own more significant suffering is certainly seen and potentially forestalled or redeemed by God (Luke 12:6; Matthew 10:29). Recently I also came across another book of the same title by Robert Hellenga, it’s about a father trying to come in terms with life after his daughter is killed by random bombing at railway station in Italy. The reviewer of the book quoted this line from one of the chapters that I thought was quite interesting "Death, in fact, is a condition of meaning. Without it human beings, like the Greek gods, would make no significant choices, confront no limitations."The pics of sparrow were taken at Belur temple courtyard (Karnataka) and Khejdali (Bishnoi village, Rajasthan). The stamp on Sparrow is from Syria. The painting of sparrow is by Chen Jiayan from ancient China- Ming Dynasty (1368-1644AD)
