Jennie.....there ARE 3 Sparrows BUT only 2 are really Sparrows...
The Sparrows are....House Sparrow (passer domesticus) the noisey ones.
....tree Sparrow (passer montanus)
and the ......Hedge Accentor - Dunnock - Hedge Sparrow (prunnela modularis)
not a real Sparrow as it has a more slender beak for eating insects.
If its any help I usually shoot on Aperture Priority and very low iso and let the camera choose the speed ...also I find on my Olympus a touch of minus Ex comp helps.
I like to have the exposure setting on just the centre as well as it helps to isolate the reading to just the subject...don't know if you can do this on the Canon ,but it should be possible.
Other advice...keep practicing.
Keith