Gaining grain

House sparrows mainly eat plants, whatever the time of year. Sparrows have chunky, seed-eater's beaks, and they will tackle all manner of seeds and grain.   

They either separate the seed from its husk with their beak or they pull the seed apart to get to the good bit - the starch that the seed would have used when it was time to grow. We use this same starch to make flour for bread. This is why many birds are happy to eat scraps of bread from your birdtable.