[Kevin McGowan]

When I was a boy in junior high, I loved all animals, and I thought I knew something about pretty much all of them.

Then I was given the Golden Guide Field Guide to the Birds of North America, and I was amazed at the fantastic number of sparrows. I had thought that there was the duck, the hawk, the sparrow.

But then I turned page after page of sparrows and I realized that really, I knew nothing. And it’s so much more to learn. I’m Kevin McGowan. Let’s talk about sparrows.

[Brewer’s Sparrow singing] Sparrows are a challenging group to be sure. That’s because lots of them look pretty much alike. These are the quintessential little, brown birds. But sparrows are everywhere, so it’s definitely worth getting to know them.

I often think of sparrows as kind of the anti-warblers. Sparrows aren’t as colorful as warblers, they’re mostly brown and subtly marked. And sparrows don’t like trees the way warblers do, so you won’t strain your neck having to look up at them.

Sparrows like grass and shrubs and pretty much stick to eye level or below. You may even see some at your feeder. But some of them are more secretive and give you only glimpses. So it pays to know sparrows from different angles and to learn their various bits and pieces.

Luckily, they’re famous for their songs. And sparrow songs are variable enough to help you with ID. From the musical Song Sparrow [Song Sparrow singing] to the insect-like Grasshopper Sparrow, [Grasshopper Sparrow singing] you can look forward to an exciting diversity of distinctive sounds from sparrows.

In this course, I’ll go through the most important things you need to know about sparrows. I’ll introduce all the sparrows commonly found in North America and help you through some difficult IDs. We’ll talk about their shape, their markings, their songs, and their behavior. All important clues to identification.

You get the chance to practice what you learn with our quizzes, and our Snap ID tool, which you can use over and over again to hone your powers of sparrow ID. Sparrows can be hard, but they’re worth the effort. They’re not flashy, but they have a subtle beauty that you learn to appreciate with experience.

I hope you’ll join me in this course to talk about sparrows.