Sparrows are small songbirds found throughout most of the world. There are over 140 species of sparrows, including the familiar house sparrow. Sparrows build nests and lay eggs in the springtime. Once the eggs hatch, both parents work together to feed and care for the hatchlings. As the nestlings grow, they remain in the nest for a couple of weeks before fledging and leaving the nest. This raises an interesting question – can sparrow parents relocate their chicks if the nest is threatened or destroyed? Let’s take a closer look at sparrow nesting behavior and abilities to see if sparrows are able to move their babies.
Do sparrows normally relocate their chicks?
Under normal circumstances, sparrow parents do not relocate their chicks once the eggs have hatched in a nest. Here’s why:
Sparrows have altricial chicks
Sparrows, like most songbirds, have altricial chicks. This means the baby birds hatch helpless, with closed eyes, no feathers, and an inability to regulate their own body temperature. They are completely dependent on their parents for food, warmth, and protection in the nest. If sparrow parents tried to transport their tiny hatchlings, the chicks would likely die from exposure or lack of care. Their immobility is necessary for their survival at this stage.
Chicks are fed frequently
For the first week after hatching, baby sparrows need to be fed by their parents every 10-20 minutes from dawn to dusk. This frequent feeding is only possible because the parents can quickly fly back and forth to the stationary nest. Relocating the chicks would mean the parents would have to carry food much farther, which could impact how often they feed the chicks.
Chicks can’t thermoregulate
In the nest, baby sparrows huddle together for warmth and are sheltered from the elements. If moved, they would be unable to maintain their body heat and likely die of hypothermia. Even older nestlings that have feathers cannot sufficiently thermoregulate for 1-2 weeks after hatching.
Risk of predation
A stationary nest offers protection from predators. If sparrow parents transported chicks, they would be extremely vulnerable during the move. Being on the ground or exposed would make them easy targets for cats, raptors, and other predators.
So in their early development, sparrow chicks are simply too fragile, immobile, and dependent on frequent care to be relocated. This strategy is essential for their survival at this stage.
Do sparrows ever relocate their chicks?
While relocating chicks goes against their normal nesting behaviors, there are some rare circumstances where sparrow parents may move their babies to a new site:
When the nest is threatened
If something threatens the nest, like a predator attack, storm damage, or human interference, the parents may evacuate the chicks. They often only move them a short distance to a nearby tree or sheltered area. Even then, the parents only move chicks that are old enough to survive the transport.
To address sanitation issues
Sparrow nests can accumulate fecal matter, food remains, and parasites. In cases of severe sanitation issues, the parents may move the chicks to a new nest box or cavity. This is risky, so they typically wait as long as possible.
Abandonment by parents
In rare cases, both sparrow parents may perish, especially towards the end of the nesting season. Nearby sparrows may adopt the orphaned chicks and move them to their own nest to raise. However, fostering orphaned chicks is unusual.
So while baby sparrows are essentially stationary after hatching, their parents may relocate them when absolutely necessary for their survival. But this is a high-risk activity only done when the alternative is likely death.
How do sparrow parents move their chicks?
Sparrow parents have a few techniques for transporting chicks from one nest to another:
Carrying chicks in their beak
Sparrows can carefully pick up and carry nestlings in their beak. The parents grasp the birds gently, usually by the wing or back feathers. This is how they carry prey and fecal sacks away from the nest. To move chicks, they make multiple trips back and forth with one chick.
Herding chicks along the ground
For older nestlings that have decent mobility, the parents may herd the chicks along the ground to a new shelter. The parents use calls and their presence to encourage the chicks to move together to the new site.
Flying short distances
Once chicks are close to fledging, parents may grab them and do short flights to a nearby nesting spot. The chicks can grip the parent’s feathers tightly for the quick flight.
Luring chicks
The parents may flutter around the new nest to demonstrate it’s a safe space. Their food calls can entice hungry chicks to move towards the new nest on their own. This takes advantage of the chicks’ increasing independence before fledging.
Overall, sparrow parents have to choose methods that minimize transport time and exposure. Getting chicks to walk or fly short distances is less risky than extended carrying in the beak. Older nestlings have better mobility, stamina, and thermoregulation for relocation.
What are the risks of relocating sparrow chicks?
Relocating sparrow chicks has many inherent risks and challenges:
Hypothermia
Even with feather insulation, chicks struggle to maintain their body heat. Extended exposure during transport or in a new nest can lead to dangerous chilling.
Overheating
If sparrow parents move chicks during hot weather, they are prone to overheating without the shade and cooling air flow of an established nest.
Dehydration
Young chicks are used to constant access to fluid from their moist food. Relocation can result in dangerous dehydration if parents don’t keep up steady feeding rates.
Starvation
Interruptions to regular feedings because of distance to a new nest, re-establishing a territory, or other factors can starve young nestlings.
Predation
Movement puts chicks at much higher risk of predators. Without the shelter of a nest, they are exposed during transport and in the unfamiliar territory.
Disruption of feeding patterns
Parent sparrows memorize the location of their own nest and develop quick routes back and forth for feeding. Even moving short distances can disrupt this finely-tuned system.
Rejection
If foster parents take over care, they may reject or improperly feed unfamiliar chicks. There’s no guarantee of adoption.
In most cases, the safest option is leaving chicks in the original nest when possible. Relocation is only worth the risks as an emergency measure.
Can sparrows be trained to relocate their chicks?
It’s highly unlikely sparrows could be trained to relocate or transport chicks on command. Here’s why sparrow relocation can’t be trained behavior:
Innate nesting instincts
Sparrows’ nesting and breeding behaviors are driven by innate genetic programming developed over millennia of evolution. Their instincts and care are not flexible or trainable behaviors.
Negative reinforcement wouldn’t work
Sparrows only move chicks when nests are disturbed or destroyed. Any training method involving taking eggs or chicks would lead to nest abandonment, not relocation.
No grasp of cause-and-effect
Sparrows lack higher reasoning ability to connect human actions with the desired result of transporting chicks. Training relies on an animal linking cause and effect.
Challenging to motivate
Sparrows experience high chick mortality rates, especially in their first year of breeding. They lack strong motivation to invest energy in risky relocation over simply re-nesting.
Can’t overcome limits on crop size
Adult sparrows can only carry very small food items for chicks in their crop. They cannot be trained to exceed the physical limits of their crop capacity.
Not needed for survival
Historically, sparrows never needed to relocate chicks, so there has been no evolutionary pressure to select for that ability over innate behaviors.
Overall, while sparrows may move chicks in emergency situations, their behaviors can’t be trained or conditioned for on-demand relocation. Their instincts drive nesting behaviors, not trainable cognitive abilities.
How do you get a sparrow to adopt a baby chick?
While rare, you may find a baby chick that needs sparrow foster parents. Here are some tips:
Choose age-appropriate chick
Pick a chick that matches the age of the sparrow’s own chicks. Too young, and it can’t compete; too old, and it’s a threat.
Observe from afar
Monitor the nest to ensure the parents have an existing clutch of eggs or chicks. Otherwise, they may reject the addition.
Swap chicks under parents’ absence
Wait until parents are away to quickly swap the adoptive chick into the nest, removing one original chick. This can trick the parents.
Replicate nest conditions
Try to match nest materials, chick odor, and environment to prevent sparrows from sensing a change.
Use distraction technique
Place desirable food items in the nest while swapping chicks so parents associate the change with a reward.
Guard the nest
Stand guard to prevent rejection or harm to the adoptive chick while the parents adjust to the new nestling.
Be prepared for rejection
Even with all precautions, the sparrows may ignore, remove, or harm an unfamiliar chick. Have backup plans if adoption fails.
Let parents raise chick normally
If acceptance is successful, observe normal sparrow parenting behaviors resume, and let the chick fully integrate into the brood.
With preparation and the right circumstances, an adoptive sparrow family can give a chick a chance to be raised by bird foster parents.
Conclusion
While sparrows strongly favor keeping chicks in the original nest, they may rarely relocate babies under emergency conditions or adopt orphaned chicks. Key takeaways:
– Sparrow chicks are altricial, requiring immobility and frequent feedings early on
– Normal sparrow behavior is never to transport chicks after hatching
– In threatened nests, parents may move older chicks very short distances
– Relocation risks hypothermia, starvation, dehydration, and predation
– Sparrows can’t be trained to relocate chicks on command
– Adoption of orphaned chicks is possible but challenging
So in summary, healthy sparrow chicks in intact nests should be left undisturbed, as the parents are unlikely to move them elsewhere. While sparrows demonstrate extraordinary dedication in caring for their helpless hatchlings, their best strategy is always to avoid risky relocation when possible. Leaving baby sparrows in their nest provides the greatest chance for survival.
