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birds of the family Fringilligæ, having conical bills, and feeding chiefly on seeds. Many sparrows are called also finches, and buntings. The common sparrow, or house sparrow, of Europe (Passer domesticus) is noted for its familiarity, its voracity, its attachment to its young, and its fecundity. See House sparrow, und…

Asparagus. [Colloq.] See the Note under Asparagus.

An evergreen shrub of the genus Erica (E. passerina).

The reed warbler. [Prov. Eng.]

A bird of the genus Emberiza, or of an allied genus, related to the finches and sparrows (family Fringillidæ).

The red-breasted house sparrow of California (Carpodacus frontalis); -- called also crimson-fronted bullfinch. [Written also burrion.]

; naked; unfledged. An in the leafy summit, spied a nest, Which, o'er the callow young, a sparrow pressed. Dryden.

To provide food; to buy, procure, or prepare provisions. [He] providently caters for the sparrow. Shak.

The hedge sparrow.

A small American sparrow (Spizella socialis), very common near dwelling; -- also called chipping bird and chipping sparrow, from its simple note.

The act of chirping; a chirp. The sparrows' chirrup on the roof. Tennyson.

The hedge sparrow or hedge accentor. [Local, Eng.]

a natural subfamily including buntings and some New World sparrows. Syn. -- subfamily Emberizidae, subfamily Emberizinae. [WordNet 1.5]

An unfledged or young male sparrow hawk. [Obs.] Shak.

rasher shark. See Thrasher shark, under Thrasher. -- Fox sleep, pretended sleep. -- Fox sparrow (Zoöl.), a large American sparrow (Passerella iliaca); -- so called on account of its reddish color. -- Fox squirrel (Zoöl.), a large North American squirrel (Sciurus niger, or S. cinereus). In the Southern States the bla…

A genus of birds, with a short, conical, pointed bill. It formerly included all the sparrows and finches, but is now restricted to certain European finches, like the chaffinch and brambling.

Pertaining to the family Fringillidæ; characteristic of finches; sparrowlike.

The Texas sparrow (Embernagra rufivirgata), in which the general color is olive green, with four rufous stripes on the head.

The chipping sparrow.

a more general sense the word is not infrequently applied, also, to true falcons, as the sparrow hawk, pigeon hawk, duck hawk, and prairie hawk.