Looks like a dreaded English house sparrow (also referred to by the acronym, HOSP.) Trust me this bird is not good news. It is an invasive species that poses a large threat to native cavity nesting birds, such as bluebirds and tree swallows.

In my childhood (1950s) this bird was found primarily in cities in my area of the country (northeast) but now it has spread to rural areas. To put blame where it belongs, urban sprawl that led to the invasion of the HOSP is a result of human overpopulation. Nonetheless this bird is not a welcome visitor.

You could attract better birds by offering only sunflower and thistle (niger) seed at your feeder.

Wow, and he seems like such a nice fellow.

Wind rocker, not everyone shares spedigrees opinion. It is often a heated debate and a sensitive subject - I hope (for your sake) that your post doesn't open up the flood gates!

Seeing bluebirds driven from our birdhouse (which has been their ancestral home for the past 4 decades) by hordes of HOSPs was enough to turn me against them.

After spending two summers consumed by the unpleasant task of trapping (sparrow traps) and disposing of them, I finally plugged up the holes on my birdhouse in disgust.

Even after the sparrow population in my area was down to a few adult birds they still drove off our bluebirds. (I'm told that if the bluebirds had managed to lay eggs in their nest, the eggs would have been destroyed and any adult bluebird who tried to defend them killed in the nest, and judging from the aggressive behavior of the sparrows I don't doubt it.)

The impact of the house sparrows is likely not visible to those in neighborhoods without habitat for bluebirds or other cavity nesters. But those of us who have been "innkeepers" to generations of bluebirds have seen these barbarians in action and it aint pretty!

Offering only nyjer and sunflower(especially) sure as heck won't help any. Hosps will still swarm the feeders. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about them. Maybe over the next couple decades someone can genetically engineer sunflower and nyjer seeds so they either deter hosps or, better yet, kill them.

Interesting and disturbing news, Hawkeye. Other than hummingbirds, I haven't fed birds since the 1970s, and back then our tube feeders of nyger and sunflower seed drew only desirable birds, goldfinches, grosbeaks, and others I no longer recall.

No not everyone hates them. I fed the birds for years and all I ever had were these guys, now I know why. I moved out to the woods 5 years ago and became a serious birdwatcher/ nestbox host. This year was the first year I had them here, I shot the male on the nestbox,I didn't like it but it had to be done for the safety of my other cavity nesters.
I never had Chickadees, Blues, Tree Sparrows, Titmice, or nuthatches back in the day...only house sparrows. The people that know nothing about birds dont hate them, most serious birdwatchers don't want them around.

I also find it awful to have to dispense of house sparrows. But if I didn't that would be all we'd have around here. Because they can nest just about anywhere and have so many broods per year, the native cavity nesting birds don't stand a chance against them. I do feed birds in the winter, and have seen house sparrows stop by only once. They checked out the nyjer seed feeder and left within seconds. If I was seeing HOSPs dining at my feeders, I would certainly take them down.

I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in finding the task of eliminating the house sparrows extremely upsetting.

I'm hoping that there will not be a resurgence in our sparrow population now that I have the numbers down and have closed up the nest box, so that I will not have to resume the distastful role of executioner.

We had to stop feeding black oil sunflower because the HOSP started eating it. We switched to safflower seed and it really improved what birds came to the feeder, no more RWBB, grackles, bluejays, or HOSP. The HOSP will go to the nijer feeder ocasionally but they dont seem to eat any of it.