House sparrows have always been true sparrows (defined as genus Passer and close relatives), it's just that where their group best sits within the perching birds has changed. True sparrows have never been weaver finches any more than new world sparrows have been buntings. Fantastic video otherwise
Excellent instructional video! Several of these species are in western New York. Some of my favorites are the juncos, chipping sparrows and song sparrows. Thanks for sharing the variety of sparrow calls.
Thank you so much for the Sparrow series. I used to hear a musical call 50 years ago in the spring. It always made me smile, as I knew pleasant weather was coming. I’m in central MD and grew up on a creek on the western shore of the Bay. I wondered if it was a Bachman’s sparrow (it was not) or another threatened species because I only heard it for a few springs as a child and never heard it again 😔. I’d lived in that house for over 25 years, so had been listening a while.
I’ve got a few different flocks of house sparrows that come through and also a duet of cardinals but the White Crowned Sparrow I saw today was amazing. Beautiful and striking crown. I’ve been hearing their songs in the evening too, so it was nice to see their song and face together in this video :)
I've been hearing a call I haven't heard before for days now. Figured it was a sparrow of some type, but which one! Your video reminded me of seeing a white crowned sparrow a while ago, and confirmed it's ID. Thanks for helping solving the mystery!
Thank so much. Identification by song or call is hard to learn. Your segments focusing on aural birding are a big help. Just learning the correct vocabulary used to accurately describe bird sounds is an important part of the learning process. Much appreciated, thanks.
Thank you for the pictures of the 15 different sparrows and the distinctive beautiful music they make. I enjoyed them immensely. At least, maybe, 3 or 4 of those sounds can be heard every morning in our backyard. I have one that built a nest under what used to be a healthy, robust, special variety of Begonia with ivies around it. It had hatched its 5 eggs four days ago (8 July 2023); I was hoping I could send you two 30-sec videos and maybe you could help me identify it. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to upload it on this medium. Going back to my Begonia, it is shriveled, thin, and fast drying because I stopped watering and fertilizing it almost a month now… since we noticed 2 birds building a next under it. Again, thank you for educating me, and God bless you abundantly above what you can ask or imagine!
Thank you for the great video. Extremely informative. I’ve heard many of these calls for decades and this helped me understand the species that makes each vocslization.
I had a Towhee on my deck last week on the first week of April in Sand Lake, Michigan. Still waiting for my Orioles to show up because they hang around every spring and summer. The Juncos just love peanuts when you break them up into pieces but they will be leaving soon too Canada I suppose
House Sparrows are actually members of the old world family of “true” sparrows, Passeridae (not weaver finches). Our “new world” sparrows belong to family Passerellidae and are “technically” not sparrows but are (depending on your perspective) only named as such because of their resemblance to the old world “true” sparrows. Rather, they are more closely related to old world buntings.
1:43 Yes! I’ve heard sparrows very similar to: White-Throated Sparrow “Oh Sweet, Canada, Canada” but in California--and shorter “Oh sweet, Caaan” I live in Texas now and realized I hadn’t heard this and came looking for answers and got them
You may have actually been hearing Golden-crowned Sparrows in California! They’re more like “I’m sooo tired”. That could be the abbreviated song you heard
Those are all tricky ones! I think of the junco as more “fluttery”, and the Chipping Sparrow more “mechanical” than the Pine Warbler which is more “insect-like”
Cet oiseaux je crois de la famille d'ortolan aussi il s'appelle '' ortolan musicien ou chanteur'' il a un très bon chant. Merci Ben de votre exposé et explications.
Anyone know birds that sound similar to the first part of the house sparrow? I keep seeing a brown bird that looks like a song sparrow but it's not as white in the Belly it makes a noise like that first part a lot and the closest things I can get on bird detector apps are song sparrow or it can identify it
I've been watching your videos trying to find a bird with a call I hear all the time near my house. I can't seem to find it. It starts with a low note goes high then ends low our mid and sounds like a whistle. It's only three notes. I thought it might be a sparrow, but none of them quite match.
Thank you so much. I look at them as invasive species and they finish and prevent other birds from getting food because they are too many. However ,my friend told me to watch on RU-vid what happened after China killed all their sparrows . Now , watching these videos made me appreciate them more with their songs.
I've heard the Towhee! Still not sure if I've seen him though. It makes me smile and then kind of wonder "why" - so many creatures in marshy areas seem to sound kind of alike... Both the Swamp Sparrow and the Clay Colored Sparrow honestly sound almost like crickets or frogs (the smaller frogs that're common in my area, anyway). This is really helpful!
