Photo Share: House Sparrow female feeding juvenile

Momma sparrow looks a little rough around the edges as she goes through her annual full fall molt, while you can see her fledgling has fine new feathers. After leaving the care of their parents, young sparrows have a high mortality rate. Only about 20–25% of birds hatched survive to their first breeding season.

House Sparrows are found year round in Michigan and can have 3 broods from May until late August. In the fall the birds roost communally and engage in social activities such as dust and water bathing, feeding and "social singing", in which birds call together in bushes.
 

Related Articles:

• Dirt baths help birds stay clean http://goo.gl/okn00
• Why birds molt http://sheabirdno1.blogspot.com/2011/07/why-birds-molt.html
• Has your family lived in America longer than the House Sparrows? http://sheabirdno1.blogspot.com/2008/10/quick-fun-fact.html

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