Sparrows attacking nests, El Paso and Pueblo Counties

[linda hodges]

Greetings, cobirders,

Two different friends have asked me about sparrows attacking nestlings recently.

One Colorado Springs friend had House Finch nestlings, and a few birds (she thinks sparrows) flew in and attacked the nest. She got a hose and chased the sparrows off.

Now another friend, in Pueblo, has a sparrow that is continually menacing a nest (she thinks perhaps Western Kingbirds). The sparrow attacks the nest, the Kingbird flies out, and then my friend finds a nestling on the ground. This has happened 3 times. The Kingbird had 5 nestlings, and 3 have been (presumably) thrown out.

I'm guessing these are House Sparrows, and that they're tossing birds out of the nest. Is this common behavior? What is the purpose?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

Linda

Linda Hodges

Colorado Springs

[Tina Jones]

House Sparrows can attack and kill young from other bird species. I had a nesting box up and there were Violet-green Swallows who used the box. One day I heard and saw lot's of noise in the vicinity of the Swallow box. The House Sparrow was going in and out of the box a lot, while the swallow was attacking it. I went over and opened the Swallow box, and found 3 Violet-green Swallow chicks decapitated, with the fourth chick not looking too well at all. The Sparrows can  crack open bird eggs also. They do not want any other bird specie near their nest. They are very competitive. They can use Bluebird boxes and can cause a lot of trouble near Bluebird trails that are close to urban areas[since House Sparrows are found more commonly near urban areas]

House Sparrows are not native to the US.

Tina Jones

Littleton, Jefferson Co, CO

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From: cob...@googlegroups.com <cob...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of linda hodges <hiker...@gmail.com>
Sent: Saturday, June 6, 2020 1:32 PM
To: Colorado Birds <cob...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [cobirds] Sparrows attacking nests, El Paso and Pueblo Counties

 

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