Beginning about 12,000 years ago, house sparrows in the Middle East stopped migrating and started nesting near humans, who had begun to grow grain. As agriculture spread into other countries and continents and people immigrated to the United States, the ever-adaptable and prolific house sparrow followed, often quickly becoming a pest. People in many countries, in fact, have made creative and largely futile attempts to rid themselves of the troublesome birds. Within the last century, however, changes in housing (no more thatched roofs), transportation (no more grain-filled horse manure on streets), and farming (introduction of herbicides and pesticides) have caused a decline in the house sparrow population throughout the world. Scientists now believe house sparrows can provide us with information about pollutants or other dangers: If such an adaptable animal is dying, could humans also be in harm’s way? Readers will look at sparrows with new eyes after taking in this absorbing and, yes, triumphant account. (Ages 8–12)

Behold the most despised bird in human history!

So begins Jan Thornhill’s riveting, beautifully illustrated story of the House Sparrow. She traces the history of this perky little bird, one of the most adaptable creatures on Earth, from its beginnings in the Middle East to its spread with the growth of agriculture into India, North Africa and Europe. Everywhere the House Sparrow went, it competed with humans for grain, becoming such a pest that in some places “sparrow catcher” became an actual job and bounties were paid to those who got rid of it.

But not everyone hated the House Sparrow, and in 1852, fifty pairs were released in New York City. In no time at all, the bird had spread from coast to coast. Then suddenly, at the turn of the century, as cars took over from horses and there was less grain to be found, its numbers began to decline. As our homes, gardens, cities and farmland have changed, providing fewer nesting and feeding opportunities, the House Sparrow’s numbers have begun to decline again — though in England and Holland this decline appears to be slowing. Perhaps this clever little bird is simply adapting once more.

This fascinating book includes the life history of the House Sparrow and descriptions of how the Ancient Egyptians fed it to the animals they later mummified, how it traveled to Great Britain as a stowaway on ships carrying Roman soldiers, and how its cousin, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow, was almost eradicated in China when Mao declared war on it. A wealth of back matter material is also supplied.