House sparrow (Passer domesticus) nesting behaviours in a rural habitat of the western Himalayas

Submitted: 15 December 2023
Accepted: 8 July 2024
Published: 4 December 2024
Abstract Views: 0
PDF: 0
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

This article presents different nesting strategies of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) during the 2018 breeding season in a rural area of the outer western Himalayas of Uttarakhand state, India. These observations show house sparrows breeding in a usurped nest of red-rumped swallows (Cecropis daurica), probably the first such record from the western part of India. The unusual use of an anthropogenic object, a shoe, as a nest site was observed. However, more generally, a preference for secondary cavity-nesting strategies associated with the traditional, concrete, and modified traditional houses was found. Behavioural strategies associated with these breeding records have also been reported in this study, showing short-term adaptation or behavioural flexibility of the house sparrow to cope with intra- and interspecific pressures in the breeding season.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

PlumX Metrics

PlumX Metrics provide insights into the ways people interact with individual pieces of research output (articles, conference proceedings, book chapters, and many more) in the online environment. Collectively known as PlumX Metrics, these metrics are divided into five categories to help make sense of the huge amounts of data involved and to enable analysis by comparing like with like.

Ali S. & Ripley S. D., 1974 – Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan together with those of Bangladesh, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Flowerpeckers to Buntings. 1st edition. Volume 10. Oxford University Press, Bombay (India).
Ali S., 2002 – The book of Indian birds. 13th edition. Bombay Natural History Society & Oxford University Press, Mumbai (India).
Álvarez E. & Barba E., 2008 – Nest quality in relation to adult bird condition and its impact on reproduction in great tits Parus major. Acta Ornithologica, 43 (1): 3-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3161/000164508X345275
Álvarez E. & Barba E., 2011 – Nest characteristics and reproductive performance in great tits Parus major. Ardeola, 58 (1): 125-136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.58.1.2011.125
Álvarez E., Belda E. J., Verdejo J. & Barba E., 2013 – Variation in great tit nest mass and composition and its breeding consequences: a comparative study in four Mediterranean habitats. Avian Biology Research, 6 (1): 39-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3184/175815513X13609517587237
Anderson T. R., 2006 – Biology of the ubiquitous house sparrow: from genes to populations. Oxford University Press, Oxford (UK). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195304114.001.0001
Bailey R. L., Faulkner-Grant H. A., Martin V. Y., Phillips T. B. & Bonter D. N., 2020 – Nest usurpation by non-native birds and the role of people in next box management. Conservation Science & Practice, 2 (5): e185. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.185
Chamberlain D. E., Toms M. P., Cleary-Mcharg R. & Banks A. N., 2007 – House sparrow (Passer domesticus) habitat use in urbanized landscapes. Journal of Ornithology, 148: 453-462. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0165-x
Choudhary S., Chauhan N. P. & Kalsi R., 2020 – Impact of urbanization on seasonal population status and occupancy of house sparrows in Delhi, India. Current Science, 119 (10): 1706-1711. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v119/i10/1706-1711
Cink C. L., 1976 – The influence of early learning on nest site selection in the house sparrow. Condor, 78 (1): 103-104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1366926
Crick H. Q. P., Robinson R. A., Appleton G. F., Clark N. A. & Rickard A. D., 2002 – Investigation into the causes of the decline of Starlings and house sparrows in Great Britain. British Trust for Ornithology Research Report 290. British Trust for Ornithology Research, Thetford (UK).
Davis W. H. & Roca P., 2008 – Foiling house sparrows. In: Bluebirds and their survival. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington: 62-68.
Ghosh S., Kim K. H. & Bhattacharya R., 2010 – A survey on house sparrow population decline at Bandel, West Bengal, India. Journal of Korean Earth Science Society, 31 (5): 448-453. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5467/JKESS.2010.31.5.448
Glądalski M., Bańbura M., Kaliński A., Markowski M., Skwarska J., Wawrzyniak J., Zieliński P., Cyżewska I. & Bańbura J., 2016 – Effects of nest characteristics on reproductive performance in blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus and great tits Parus major. Avian Biology Research, 9 (1): 37-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3184/175815516X14447556559088
Grimmett R., Inskipp C. & Inskipp T., 1998 – Birds of the Indian subcontinent. 1st edition. Christopher Helm, A & C Black, London (UK).
Grimmett R., Inskipp C. & Inskipp T., 2011 – Birds of Indian subcontinent. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press & Christopher Helm, London (UK).
Havlíček J., 2021 – The breeding and foraging ecology of the house sparrow in the rural and urban environment. Doctoral (Biology) Dissertation. University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice. <https://theses.cz/id/ej6mhm/> (Accessed: 15 December 2021).
Hilton G. M., Hansell M. H., Ruxton G. D., Reid J. M. & Monaghan P., 2004 – Using artificial nests to test importance of nesting material and nest shelter for incubation energetics. Auk, 121 (3): 777-787. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/121.3.777
Ieziekel S. & Yosef, R., 2020 – Cooperative defence of colonial breeding house martins (Delichon urbicum) against nest-usurping house sparrows (Passer domesticus). Journal of Vertebrate Biology, 69 (1): 1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25225/jvb.19045
Indykiewicz P., 1990 – Nest sites and nests of house sparrow (Passer domesticus) in urban environment. In: Granivorous birds in the agricultural landscapes. Pinowski J. & Summers-Smith J.D. (eds.). PWN-Polish Scientific publisher, Warsaw: 95-121.
Indykiewicz P., 1991 – Nests and nests-sites of the house sparrow Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) in urban, suburban and rural environments. Acta Zoologica Cracoviensia, 34 (2): 475-495.
Jawor J. M., 2000 – Female dominance and aggressive behaviors in house sparrow flocks. Auk, 117 (3): 799-802. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/auk/117.3.799
Jayaraman A., Ramakrishnan B. & Samson A., 2017 – Utilization of artificial nest boxes by House Sparrow Passer domesticus in urban areas of Udhagamanadalam, The Nilgiris, India. International Studies on Sparrows, 41: 31-37.
Kalinoski R., 1975 – Intra-and interspecific aggression in house finches and house sparrows. Condor, 77 (4): 375-384. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1366086
Khera N., Das A., Srivasatava S. & Jain S., 2010 – Habitat-wise distribution of the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) in Delhi, India. Urban Ecosystems, 13 (1): 147-154. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-009-0109-8
Leasure D. R., 2013 – The house sparrow Passer domesticus decline: conservation tools emerge from a contrasting North American perspective. Indian BIRDS, 8 (6): 22-23.
Liker A. & Barta Z., 2001 – Male badge size predicts dominance against females in house sparrows. Condor, 103 (1): 151-157. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/condor/103.1.151
Lindell C., 1996 – Patterns of nest usurpation: when should species converge on nest niches? Condor, 98 (3): 464-473. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1369560
Lowther P. E. & Cink C. L., 2006 – House sparrow (Passer domesticus). In: Birds of north America. Poole A. (ed.). Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, New York (USA). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.houspa.02
Mainwaring M. C., Hartley I. R., Lambrechts M. M. & Deeming D. C., 2014 – The design and function of bird’s nests. Ecology & Evolution, 20 (4): 3909-3928. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1054
Mason C. F., 2006 – Avian species richness and numbers in the built environment: can new housing developments be good for birds? Biodiversity & Conservation, 15: 2365-2378. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-004-1236-4
Maxmellion P. M. E & Rajendran P., 2021 – A study on the nesting site preference and adaptability of house sparrow to various locations in the rural, suburban and urban gradients. Journal of Science and Technology, 6 (5): 89-98.
Møller A. P. & Nielsen J. T., 2015 – Large increase in nest size linked to climate change: an indicator of life history, senescence and condition. Oecologia, 179 (3), 913-921. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3385-4
Naithani A. & Bhatt D., 2012 – Bird community structure in natural and urbanized habitats along an altitudinal gradient in Pauri district (Garhwal Himalaya) of Uttarakhand state, India. Biologia, 67 (4): 800-808. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-012-0068-z
Nath A., Singha H., Deb P., Das A. K. & Lahkar B. P., 2015 – Nesting in a crowd: the response of house sparrow towards proximity to spatial cues in commercial zones of Guwahati city. Proceedings of Zoological Society, 69 (2): 249-254. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12595-015-0149-4
Newton I., 1998 – Population limitation in birds. Academic Press, San Diego (USA).
Patil P. & Jathar G., 2008 – A case of infanticide by a hen house sparrow Passer domesticus. Indian BIRDS, 4 (1): 21.
Peach W., Mallord J., Ockendon N., Orsman C. & Haines W., 2018 – Depleted suburban house sparrow Passer domesticus population not limited by food availability. Urban Ecosystems, 21 (6): 1053-1065. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-018-0784-4
Pitts T. D., 1991 – Secondary cavity nesting birds of Tennessee. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science, 66 (4): 215-218.
Samson A., Ramakrishna B. & Manigandan S., 2017 – House sparrows Passer domesticus breeding in nests of the red-rumped swallow Hirundo daurica. International Studies on House Sparrows, 41: 38-39.
Shaw L. M., Chamberlain D. & Evans M., 2008 – The house sparrow Passer domesticus in urban areas: reviewing a possible link between post-decline distribution and human socio economic status. Journal of Ornithology, 149 (3): 293-299. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-008-0285-y
Sheldon E. L. & Griffith S. C., 2017 – A high incidence of non-cavity nesting in an introduced population of house sparrows suggests that the species should not be constrained by cavity-nest site availability. Avian Research, 8 (1): 29. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s40657-017-0087-0
Siriwardena G. M., Robinson R. A. & Crick H. Q. P., 2002 – Status and population trends of the house sparrow Passer domesticus in Great Britain. In: Investigation into the causes of the decline of starlings and house sparrows in Great Britain. Crick H. Q. P., Robinson R. A., Appleton G. F., Clark N. A. & Rickard A. D. (eds.). British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford: 33-52.
Sumasgutner P., Millán J., Curtis O., Koelsag A. & Amar A., 2016 – Is multiple nest building an adequate strategy to cope with inter-species nest usurpation? BMC Evolutionary Biology, 16 (1): 97. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-016-0671-7
Summers-Smith J. D., 2003 – The decline of the house sparrow: a review. British Birds, 96 (9): 439-446.
Sziemer P. & Holzer T., 2005 – Vienna. In: Birds in European cities. Kelcey J. G. & Rheinwald G. (eds.). Ginster Verlag, St. Katharinen: 359-388.
Wagner N., 2012 – Occupation of monk parakeet (Myiopsitta monachus) nest cavities by house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Boletín SAO, 20 (2): 72-78.
Yosef R., Zduniak P. & Zmihorski M., 2016 – Invasive ringed-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri) negatively affects indigenous Eurasian hoopoe (Upupa epops) in Arava valley, Israel. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 53 (5-6): 281-287. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5735/086.053.0605

How to Cite

Kukreti, M. (2024). House sparrow (<i>Passer domesticus</i>) nesting behaviours in a rural habitat of the western Himalayas. Rivista Italiana Di Ornitologia, 94(2). https://doi.org/10.4081/rio.2024.742

Similar Articles

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.