What is an English Sparrow?

The English sparrow and the house sparrow are the same bird.

This is an imported species which has become very successful in North America -- to the detriment of many, valued song birds here.

The Peterson A Field Guide To The Birds describes the house sparrow this way:

• Field Marks:-- 5 - 6 1/2. A species with which everybody is familiar. City birds are usually so sooty that more than one beginner has thought he had discovered something good when he first saw a clean country male with its black throat, white cheeks, and chestnut nape. Females are dull brown above and dingy white below without distinctive marks.
• Range:-- Distributed widely about civilization; about cities, towns, and farms throughout the United States and Canada.