Stone Sparrow - description, habitat, interesting facts

Stone sparrow is a representative of a sparrow-like squad who prefers to live in a rocky area. In their external features, the birds are somewhat similar to ordinary sparrows, there are only differences in the color of plumage, voice and environment. Some individuals may be nomads, others lead a sedentary life without flights to warm regions.

Description and habitat

1. These individuals in the body grow up to 14 cm. Maximum, while their wingspan is about 30 cm. Body weight varies between 25–33 gr. If we consider the color of the plumage, then brownish, brown, gray shades and dark spots prevail.
2. In their color of plumage, sparrows of this type are somewhat similar to house sparrows. A spot of creamy white tone and streaks is noted in the head area. The tail is square in format. At the tips of the wings there are specks in the shape of an oval.
3. The chest is decorated with a yellow speck. In males, this lemon shade is highly developed, females are dimmer. As for the differences in gender, it is not in other aspects.
4. The tail of the birds is decorated with a white border. These sparrows are not much larger than usual, but the size is still different. Regarding the plumage of males with females, there is not much difference.
5. Earlier it was said that these sparrows prefer to be located in places with slopes and stones. They love rocks and all similar places. You can meet individuals in arid zones, up to stone deserts with rare trees.
6. Representatives of the group live in the mountains, the height of which sometimes reaches 2,000 meters. There are birds in the fields with cereals and crops. They like arid climatic regions with a special landscape.
7. These birds seek out free buildings, then populate them. They are also present in a grove with olive bushes, in vineyards and among chestnuts. They love the steppes, forest-steppes, clay terrain and cliffs.

Lifestyle

1. Individuals of the group under discussion prefer to live in small families. They are sometimes found even singly or in pairs. If they live on stones, then they do not fly, but move quickly on their paws.
2. By the nature of the flight, we can say that individuals fly confidently and quickly, but not in a straight line. Their wingspan allows you to perform various maneuvers. When the wings are deployed, they seem quite large.
3. As for the voice, these sparrows seem to meow. Thus they communicate with each other. They run fast on land. When spring comes, the male occupies the territory and sings softly, shortly, indistinctly.

Breeding

1. The considered individuals belong to polygamous birds. In the mating season, up to 4 females can be per male. In mid-spring, individuals begin to build a home. As a result, the nest is quite loose. As a building material, stalks of cereal crops and various thin branches act.
2. The bottom of the dwelling is lined with hair or animal hair, down and plant fibers. In most cases, the birds in question try to place a nest in abandoned holes. At one time, the female is able to bring a maximum of 7 eggs. The shell has a beige color.
3. In this case, mottled patches are present on the eggs. The female is engaged in the offspring of about 2 weeks. After that, she begins to feed them with insects. Young growth becomes wing after 3 weeks. After that, he leaves the nest.

Interesting Facts

1. An adult can weigh no more than 35 grams. The birds under consideration are part of the order Passeriformes, in which there are still about 5000 species of birds.One of the largest is the raven. The smallest king is considered.
2. On the whole earth there are more than 1 billion of such birds. The name Sparrows came to us from the Old Slavonic language. Birds often stole various products. In addition, the presented birds often coo, tweet.
3. It is quite easy to distinguish a male from a female; in the first case, the bird has a large black spot. It can be seen on the goiter, chin, throat and upper chest. Also, males have a dark gray color on their heads.

The considered individuals are quite interesting birds. They have a relatively short lifespan. Only in rare cases, the birds live up to 10 years. Most individuals die before the first winter. Because of this feature, we can say that sparrows live on average from several months to 2 years. In addition, birds have a very frequent heartbeat, because of a strong fright, a sparrow can simply die.