h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I didn't know that moineaux was French for sparrow.

I've seen birds in France that we don't get in Britain, like the hoopoo and the black kite, but I don't think I've seen many sparrows. Perhaps they're not as common in France, or only in cities?

"The sparrows, also known as little brown jobs', are one of the most numerous bird species in North America....There are at least 35 types of sparrow species in North America. "
http://www.birds-of-north-america.net/sparrows.html

The good news is that some birds in Europe are doing well numerically
http://www.sexadodeaves.com/vlog/en/the-most-common-birds-in-europe/

They just don't happen to be sparrows.

House sparrows evolved a special gene to digest the complex carbs that humans fed them with. Wild birds that get food in the wild may do better. I don't know. India's sparrows declined when cell phones came along. Did the birds kill themselves hitting cell towers?

In Dutch we call that a "mus" (plural: mussen).

We used to have loads of those in our back yard. They like the large bushes we have there. Some years they nested in the wall cavity next to the head side of my bed, creating a natural alarm clock. The cats on one side and the catbuster on the other side may have scared them off though. The resident bird population now mostly consists of magpies, doves and tits.

The house sparrow is still the commonest bird in Britain but they have declined.

I've read that, though the adult birds can live on seeds and nuts, the chicks need insects and there has been a drastic reduction in the number of insects.

Sparrows are very common here, and have been everywhere I go in the US. At our bird feeder, we've realised that those 'little brown jobs' represent several different types of brown sparrow. Maybe because we still have plenty of insects.

Robins, blue jays, and chickadees are the ones I recognize at sight. Oh, and mourning doves and pigeons and ducks and geese.

Look George! We know your a genius ok! - But this is about food and a meal NOT about "plate" tectonics