The efficacy and function of sparrow

Sparrow is a very common medicinal material in life. It is widely used and you can choose it with confidence. Let’s take a look at it together.

[Other names] Chinese pheasant (Erya), Laohu (note by Jia Kui in Zuo Zhuan), sparrow (note by Guo Pu in Erya), bird of prey (Qin Jing), fence sparrow (note by Qin Jing), frog, water chicken (Yi Lin Zong Yao).

[Source] It is the meat of the yellow-legged three-toed quail, a member of the three-toed quail family.

【Original form】Body length is about 16 cm. It is similar in shape to a quail but smaller. The iris is pale yellowish white; the upper beak is slightly black, and the tip of the beak is yellow. The upper body is mostly covered with feathers mixed with brown and chestnut yellow, with dark brown spots on the sides of the chest and ribs. The feet are yellow and have only three toes. The female has dark brown head and nape, green feathers with light yellow or chestnut, and a gray-yellow-white band from the middle of the head to the base of the back of the neck; the cheeks and below the ear feathers are light orange-yellow; the front of the eyes and the area around the eyes are light yellow; the ear feathers are light yellowish brown with fine black lines on them; the lower neck and sides of the neck have chestnut-red patches; the back and shoulders are gray-brown, with a large black spot at the tip of the feathers, with brown markings on it, and surrounded by fine black spots or wavy lines; the waist to the tail feathers are gray-brown, with small black or chestnut wavy spots. The wing is pointed, the wing coverts are light olive yellow, the feather tips are light yellow with black round spots; the primary and secondary flight feathers are olive brown, and the outer vanes are decorated with light yellow feather edges. The throat is light yellow, or white with a slight chestnut tinge; the breast is orange-chestnut, and the lower breast and lower flanks are straw yellow; there are black round spots on the sides of the chest and upper flanks; the abdomen is light yellowish white; the undertail coverts are chestnut yellow; the underwing coverts are olive brown. The male and female are similar but smaller; the chestnut patch on the lower neck is not obvious; the sides of the head and above the eyes are light yellow with fine black spots; there are light yellow spots or stripes on the upper body. The lower body is paler than that of the female.

[Habitat distribution] Distributed in the northern and central parts of Northeast China, Hebei, Shandong, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi and other places.

【Nature and flavor】 Sweet, neutral, non-toxic.

【Functions and indications】 Treats various hidden sores and can remove heat by cooking.

【Excerpt】 《*Dictionary》

[Source] 1. From "Supplement to Compendium of Materia Medica"; The sparrow is at peace and at ease in a place where there is no wood. What Zhuangzi meant by "leaping up and down is no more than a few steps, flying between the weeds and poles." The sparrow is a migratory bird. It often crows in the morning like a rooster, urging people to harvest wheat, and travelers take it as a sign.

The above are some of the basic functions of sparrows and how to eat them, so that you won’t make mistakes when eating them and can maximize the value of sparrows more correctly.