Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This little backyard bird can be beloved in urban areas, but has caused serious ecological problems since its introduction to America. European settlers, homesick for the familiar cheep cheep calls, often sent for or brought House Sparrows along on their voyage across the sea; both the human and the avian invaders thrived here by displacing the natives.

House Sparrows have a place in the Guinness Book of World Records:

House Sparrow: Lowest dwelling birds. From the (northern hemisphere) summer of 1975 to spring 1978, three house sparrows (Passer domesticus) lived in Frickley Colliery [a deep coalmine], Yorkshire, UK, at a depth of 640 m (2,100 ft), making them the lowest known resident population of wild birds. Two of these three sparrows even nested and raised three chicks, but the chicks died not long afterwards.

Having problems with House Sparrows? Check out some ways to solve the problem.