House Sparrows on a brick wall (1 Viewer)

[NoSpringChicken]

I was looking out of the kitchen window at home yesterday and noticed some birds on the brick walls of a house opposite. I got my binoculars and discovered that they were House Sparrows. They were flying out of the surrounding trees and bushes and landing on the walls, clinging onto the bricks and moving over the wall surface.

I was very impressed that they were able to get a foothold on vertical bricks but am interested to know what they were doing. It was raining at the time so I suppose the eaves of the house gave them some shelter from the elements. I assumed they were after small insects and spiders but as there were around six to ten birds on the wall at the same time that would require a lot of insects. I have since discovered a suggestion on a website that sparrows have been known to land on a brick wall to dig out crumbling, gritty mortar to aid their digestion.

I have never observed this before and would be interested to know if anyone has any idea what they were really doing.

Ron

 

[peterpiper]

Can't say why they do it, but see them very often on my garage wall
pete

 

[Lisa W]

From what I've been told they are eating the bugs they find on the wall. That's what this one was doing.
http://www.birdforum.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/202699/ppuser/39270