As remarkable as it sounds, house sparrows can swim!  Now I am not talking about simply wading into shallow water and vigorous beating its wings back and forth as all of the other birds that bathe in our backyards.  Amazingly, when pursued by a hawk or other predator, the house sparrow can actually dive beneath the surface of the water and swim underwater for a short distance.   This greatly enhances their ability to avoid being eaten by a predator.

       Now that is something I want to see.  However, since I provide my backyard birds with shallow birdbaths, I will have to be on the lookout for sparrows using the edge of a stream or pond to witness this unusual behavior.

       I do not know of anybody that has witnessed a house sparrow swimming.  If you have been lucky enough to do so, please share the details.