Old World sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds worldwide.

[16] Many species

commonly live in agricultural areas, and for several, human settlements are a primary
habitat. The Eurasian tree and house sparrows are particularly specialised in living around
humans and inhabit cities in large numbers. 17 of the 26 species recognised by the
Handbook of the Birds of the World are known to nest on and feed around buildings.[4]

Grain-eating species, in particular the house and Sudan golden sparrows, can be significant
agricultural pests. They can be beneficial to humans as well, especially by eating insect
pests. Attempts at large-scale control have failed to affect populations significantly, or have
been accompanied by major increases in insect attacks probably resulting from a reduction
of numbers, as in the Great Sparrow Campaign in 1950s China.[4]

Because of their familiarity, the house sparrow and other species of the family are frequently
used to represent the common and vulgar, or the lewd.[17] Birds usually described later as
Old World sparrows are referred to in many works of ancient literature and religious texts in
Europe and western Asia. These references may not always refer specifically to Old World
sparrows, or even to small, seed-eating birds, but later writers who were inspired by these
texts often had the house sparrow and other members of the family in mind. In particular,
Old World sparrows were associated by the ancient Greeks with Aphrodite, the goddess of
love, due to their perceived lustfulness, an association echoed by later writers such as
Chaucer and Shakespeare.[4][17][18]

Jesus's use of "sparrows" as an example of divine providence in the Gospel of Matthew[19]

also inspired later references, such as that in the final scene of Shakespeare's Hamlet[17]
and the Gospel hymn "His Eye Is on the Sparrow".[20]

Sparrows are represented in ancient Egyptian art very rarely, but an Egyptian hieroglyph