Post #13741

Sparrow: Survival at the Bottom of the Food Chain After this article, you will understand that amazing things can always be found nearby. The house sparrow is a bird that no one even pays attention to. She lingers at the very end of the food chain. Her existence is an eternal game of survival. But behind the homely modesty lies a brilliant animal that has conquered the whole world. We will not describe the sparrow. Go outside, breathe some fresh air, and look at the birds for yourself! But here’s a life hack: how to distinguish a girl sparrow from a boy sparrow. They can be distinguished even from afar: males have a black “tie” on their neck and chest. Young birds and females have modest and monochromatic plumage - beige-brown. Congratulations, now you know how to brighten up an awkward pause during a first date in the park. But we will dwell on the physical characteristics in more detail. Because sparrows are goners in the world of birds. Everything is clear about the size - the bird’s weight is like a piece of sausage - 30 grams. But the sparrow’s breathing is poor! Birds can fly without a break for a maximum of 15-20 minutes. Every long flight is like a tough cardio workout for bobcats: the birds' heart rate jumps from 500 beats per minute at rest to 1000 in flight! The small, weak bird is absolutely defenseless against predators. Sparrows are hunted by everyone: from standard cats and hawks to squirrels and tits, which no one considers to be meat eaters at all! Those who do not eat sparrows compete with them for food. An impudent fat pigeon will easily drive away a whole flock of jumpers from the crumbs they find. As you understand, being born a sparrow means choosing the maximum difficulty in the survival game. But everything becomes even scarier if you look at the statistics. The annual mortality rate for adults is 45-65%. Of the 20 years allotted by nature, on average, unfortunate birds live no more than 6! And if you are a yellow-throated youngster, the chance of finding a soul mate and setting up your own family nest is minimal - only 20-25% of hatched chicks survive to breed. But do you know what the paradox is? Being at the very bottom of the food pyramid, the sparrow managed to conquer most of the planet and became the third most populous bird on earth. Sparrows live and nest in 152 countries. So that you understand the scale: there are only 195 countries in the world. The size of the population is unimaginable: according to rough estimates, it ranges from 800 million to 1.3 billion individuals. In terms of numbers, house sparrows are second only to the domestic chicken - 24 billion; and red-billed weavers - 1.5 billion. But how?! How, with all the above introductions, did this baby manage to achieve global success?! Firstly, absolute unpretentiousness. They'll peck at the grain, catch insects, and steal French fries from the table. They also do not require special places for nesting: any hole will do: in a holl