Are "hen sparrow'' and ''cock sparrow" common

[Charlie Bernstein]

I would never have known that, not even in a parallel universe in which I was Steve Irwin.

Yup! I've lived all over the US, in cities, suburbs, and small towns, and I've never heard "hen sparrow" or "cock sparrow" used anywhere!

They might, as Piscean says, be common enough. I just haven't heard them.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Well, I am certainly not alone among speakers of BrE, as this Ngram shows. 'Hen sparrow' is less used in AmE, but 'cock sparrow appears to be more common than 'male sparrow'.

Interesting! I just know that (a) I've heard the word "sparrow" thousands of times, (b) I've never heard the word "cock" in front of it, and (c) I'm not the only one. The poster can make of all this whatever the poster likes. Let's hope it's entertaining. And enlightening!

This is certainly turning into a cock-and-hen story!

 

[emsr2d2]

I have never felt the need to differentiate between male and female sparrows. If I really had to, I would simply use "male" and "female".