You’ve probably seen one today. The first house sparrows in the country were released in Brooklyn, New York, in 1851, according to a 2010 study in Biological Invasions by Michael Moulton and colleagues. The authors, from the University of Florida and USDA Wildlife Services, say just 16 birds were probably enough to get it all started.
A small brown bird hops around a café patio, pecking at crumbs as if it owns the place. It’s easy to ignore, but this bird has an interesting North American backstory.
The birds reportedly didn’t fare too well at first, but the authors suggest that may simply mean people lost track of them. The study contains an account by Nicholas Pike, who was directing the Brooklyn Institute at the time. Many writers gave a bigger number over the years. The authors of this study disagree. They say the extra releases rely heavily on one man’s memory , recalled decades later. No other record apparently backs them up. Shaky records can often produce shaky conclusions, the authors warn. So how did such a tiny group survive? The study points to horses. There were a lot of them in New York at that time. The spilled grain and horse manure, full of undigested grain, gave the sparrows plenty to eat. To their eyes, it is more likely that the first birds simply escaped notice after release.
He said eight pairs of sparrows were imported from England in 1850. That makes 16 birds altogether. They were kept in cages till the spring of 1851 and then were let loose. Some said about 100 sparrows were brought in three separate releases. The authors could see no reason why 16 birds could not have survived under such conditions.
That success, however, was not good news to some. The conservancy reports that House Sparrows are ferocious competitors for nesting space. They’re known to drive native species away from nest boxes. One example would be the Eastern Bluebird. House Sparrows will drive out, and even kill, bluebirds when both want the same nest box. Some farmers also consider the birds pests. The sparrow is not a villain; it simply found a favorable environment . New York had enough food, and the people had a plan. The plan didn’t remain small. The Moulton study adds another lesson. Even famous stories can rest on thin records, so it’s worth checking them out. So next time you see a sparrow landing beside your coffee, remember where its story began and how far it has come.
