Don’t Be So Sparrow-Minded

This happened yesterday, and I can’t quite decide if somebody was pulling my leg. They seemed utterly sincere, but, well, you decide.

I work remotely and lead a lot of remote meetings. During one such call, I was a little distracted by a small bird flying into my home office through an open window and then leaving again – leading to the following conversation:

Me: “Sorry, folks, I was a bit distracted by a sparrow flying into my office there. Don’t worry, it flew out again.”

Colleague: *Laughs.* “What kind of rural location do you live in that you get sparrows?”

Me: “What are you talking about? They have got to be one of the most common birds in the UK, you get them everywhere.”

Colleague: “Well, I’ve never seen them.”

Me: “You’re in Manchester, right? I guarantee that there are lots of sparrows in Manchester.”

Colleague: “Nah, they hang about beaches and seas with pirates.”

Me: “You’re thinking about parrots.”

Colleague: “Nah, they were in that movie, weren’t they?”

Me: “Wait, wait, wait. Are you talking about Pirates of the Caribbean? You realise that Captain Jack Sparrow wasn’t called Captain Sparrow because he was actually a Sparrow or had a pet Sparrow, don’t you?”

Colleague: “Oh, right.”

For context, my colleague is in their mid-twenties and I googled it, sparrows are indeed common across Manchester.