To the sparrows who think they run the yard, please 

consult the website All About Birds where we learn 

house sparrows survive only in the immediate vicinity 

of people. No sparrows, for example, in the desert. Keep 

scolding us away. You won’t like how suddenly barren 

your world is if we’re gone. We used to hang a feeder from 

the pergola, before the cats caught on. Some mornings 

sparrows were lined up as spoiled as possible on the edge 

of the roof, waiting for the feeder to be filled. It wasn't, 

however, what my neighbor thought. By the time she peeked 

over the fence I'd gotten the sparrow's rhythm down, making my 

duck noise between her where-are-you blurts, which made it look 

like we were communicating. The starling on the power line 

with its yellow beak is more striking, its calls more varied. It's 

also hated by ecologists for driving native birds away, casually 

killing other birds’ eggs. It's more complicated now, liking 

how they sound. The sparrows are nesting in our attic vent. 

Neighbors urged us to get the eggs before they’re hatched. 

Sounding tough is important to some. The only consequence 

I can see for a sparrow nest is young sparrows and they’ll 

all be gone soon. As opposed to being killers of birds.