sparrow

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white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)

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sparrow

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Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Dec 13, 2024 • Article History

Related Topics:: dunnock; house sparrow; rufous-collared sparrow; song sparrow; chipping sparrow

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sparrow, any of a number of small, chiefly seed-eating birds having conical bills. The name sparrow is most firmly attached to birds of the Old World family Passeridae (order Passeriformes), particularly to the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) that is so common in temperate North America and Europe, but also to many New World members of the Emberizidae. Most members of the New World family Emberizidae are called sparrows. Examples breeding in North America are the chipping sparrow (Spizella passerina) and the tree sparrow (S. arborea), trim-looking little birds with reddish-brown caps; the savanna sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and the vesper sparrow ...(100 of 177 words)

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