The incessant chirps and gregarious lifestyles of house sparrows qualify them as extremely talkative and social little birds ...

Of particular interest to me is the house or English sparrow. I have learned to appreciate the striking plumage males display during the breeding season: gray crowns with chestnut borders, whitish ...

It’s almost impossible to realize I once said that when I saw my first house sparrow. Back then, this introduced species was known as the English sparrow. That first visit was sometime in the ’60s.

It’s springtime at Jamaica Bay, a wonderful birding area filled with shorebirds, ducks, geese and many colorful passerines in the scrubby gardens. A smattering of birders are ambling along in front of ...