Wordnik : Sparrow defined and explained

American Heritage Dictionary

Century Dictionary (9)

The housesparrow, Passer domesticus, a fringilline bird of Europe, which has been imported and naturalized in America, Australia, and other countries. It is about 6 inches long and 9⅓ in extent of wings. The upper parts of the male are ashy-gray, boldly streaked on the back with black and bay; there is a dark-chestnut or mahogany spot on each side of the neck; the lesser wing-coverts are chestnut; the median are tipped with white, forming a wing-bar; the greater coverts and inner secondaries have a black field bordered with gray; and the lower parts are ashy or gray, with jet-black on the throat, spreading on the breast, and bordered on the side of the neck with white. The female is similar, but more plainly feathered, lacking the distinctive head-markings of the male. The sparrow is a conirostral granivorous bird, whose food is principally seeds and grain, yet it has been introduced in many countries for the purpose of destroying noxious insects. It is extremely hardy, pugnacious, and prolific, rearing several large broods annually. Of all birds the sparrow naturally attaches itself most closely to man, and easily modifies its habits to suit artificial conditions of environment. It is thus one of several animals. as rats, mice, and other vermin, well fitted to survive under whatever conditions man may offer or enforce; hence it wins in competition with the native birds of the foreign countries where It naturalizes, without as readily developing counteractive agencies to check its increase. It speedily becomes a pest wherever introduced, and seldom destroys noxious insects to any appreciable extent. It was brought into the United States from Germany about 1869, and is now probably more numerous than any single native bird. In New York city thousands of sparrows are sold and eaten as reed-birds. See cut under Passer.
Some or any fringilline bird resembling the sparrow, as Passer montanus, the tree-sparrow; one of various finches and buntings, mostly of plain coloration. In the United States the name is given, with a qualifying word, to very many small sparrow-like birds, mostly of homely streaked coloration. Chipping or field-sparrows belong to the genus Spizella; crown-sparrows to Zonotrichia; fox-sparrows to Passerella; grasshopper-sparrows to Coturniculus; the grass-sparrow to Poœcetes; the lark-sparrow to Chondestes; sage-sparrows to Amphispiza; savanna-sparrows to Passerculus; seaside sparrows to Ammodromus; snow-sparrows to Junco; song-sparrows to Melospiza. See cuts under Chondestes, Coturniculus, Embernagra, field-sparrow, grassfinch, sage-sparrow, savanna-sparrow, snowbird, and song-sparrow.
Some little bird likened to or mistaken for a sparrow. Thus, the hedge-sparrow is the hedge-chanter, Accentor modularis, and some other warblers are loosely called sparrows.
Bush-sparrow the hedge-sparrow, Accentor modularis.
English sparrow the common European house-sparrow, Passer domesticus: so called in the United States. See def. 1.
Green-tailed sparrow Blanding's finch. See finch.
Java sparrow the ricebird of Java, Amadina (Munia or Padda) oryzivora, about as large as the bobolink, of a bluish-gray color with pink bill and white ear-coverts: a well known cage-bird.
Sandwich sparrow a variety of the common savanna-sparrow found in Alaska.
White-throated sparrow a crown-sparrow. (See also field sparrow, hedge-sparrow, hill-sparrow, house-sparrow, reed-sparrow, satin-sparrow, water-sparrow, and other compounds noted in def. 2.)

Sparrow

Definitions (9)

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Century Dictionary (9)

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