lieber eine Stumme im Bett als eine Taube auf dem Dach

Etymology
Satirical from. Pun with Taube, which can mean either "deaf woman" or "dove", so the sentence is not more comparing a sparrow to a dove but rather a mute woman in the bed to a deaf one on the roof.

Proverb

 * 1) a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush