Passeridae

House Sparrow

Passer domesticus

The cheerful chirper of courtyards, eaves and rooftops — the first bird you'll meet at Kunja, and the last to leave you alone.

Seen atKunja ·Ranikhet ·Jageshwar ·Barechhina

Opens recordings on xeno-canto, the open bird-sound archive.

Stay in the The Sparrow Room In the Lap of Nature

What the hills call it

Gauraiya

/ gau·rai·yaa /गौरैया

KumaoniBird

House Sparrow — The cheerful chirper of courtyards, eaves and rooftops — the first bird you'll meet at Kunja, and the last to leave you alone.

Field notes

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passeridae · Old World sparrows
Genus: Passer
Length: 14–18 cm
Wingspan: 19–25 cm
Weight: 24–40 g
At Kunja: Resident — here all year round
Conservation: Least Concern

How to know it

The male wears a grey crown, a black bib and a warm chestnut nape; the female and young are a plain buffy-brown with a pale stripe behind the eye. Both carry the stout, conical bill of a seed-eater and a short, busy tail.

What it eats

Mostly seeds and grain — and, around a village, whatever the household leaves behind: crumbs, cooked rice, the grain spread out to dry. Through the breeding season they switch to insects and caterpillars to feed the chicks.

Where & when to spot it

The easiest bird to find here — hopping about the courtyard, the eaves, the cattle shed and the drying grain. Look and listen near any lived-in house; they almost never stray far from people.

Nesting & mating

Nests in a hole or crevice — under the roof tiles, in a wall cavity, behind a beam — lined with grass, feathers and odd bits of string. Pairs are largely monogamous and often nest in loose colonies, raising two or three broods of four to five eggs through the warmer months.

In the field

When we’ve seen it

Most often photographed in March and December, usually in the middle of the day. That makes spring and winter the clearest windows to spot it around the homestay.

Spotting tip: head out in the middle of the day, walk slowly and stop often, and listen as much as you look — most of these birds call before they show themselves.

In the lens