Description
The House Sparrow is a compact bird, typically about 16 cm (6.3 in) long, ranging from 14–18 cm (5.5–7.1 in). It has a large rounded head, and a stout bill with a culmen length of 1.1 to 1.5 cm (0.43 to 0.59 in). It has a short tail, 5.2 to 6.5 cm (2.0 to 2.6 in) long. The wing chord is 6.7 to 8.9 cm (2.6 to 3.5 in), and the tarsus is 1.6 to 2.5 cm (0.63 to 0.98 in). In weight, the House Sparrow ranges from 24–39.5 g (0.85–1.39 oz). Weight varies by sex, with females usually smaller than males. The median weight on the European continent for both sexes is about 30 g (1.1 oz), and in more southerly subspecies is around 26 grams (0.92 oz). Younger birds are smaller, males are larger during the winter, and females are larger during the breeding season. Between and within subspecies, there is further variation based on latitude, altitude, climate, and other environmental factors, under biological principles such as Bergmann's rule.
Read more about this topic: House Sparrow
Famous quotes containing the word description:
“As they are not seen on their way down the streams, it is thought by fishermen that they never return, but waste away and die, clinging to rocks and stumps of trees for an indefinite period; a tragic feature in the scenery of the river bottoms worthy to be remembered with Shakespeare’s description of the sea-floor.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“The type of fig leaf which each culture employs to cover its social taboos offers a twofold description of its morality. It reveals that certain unacknowledged behavior exists and it suggests the form that such behavior takes.”
—Freda Adler (b. 1934)
“He hath achieved a maid
That paragons description and wild fame;
One that excels the quirks of blazoning pens.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)