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Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Passer montanus

Identify the Eurasian Tree Sparrow by sound or photo and log your sightings with Birdpass.

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The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a small, chestnut-capped sparrow with a white cheek marked by a bold black spot; males and females look alike. It ranges across temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia and has been introduced elsewhere. In Europe it lives mainly in farmland with hedges and villages, whereas in eastern Asia it is the common town sparrow. It has declined in parts of western Europe with changes in farming.

Did you know?

  • Unlike most sparrows, the sexes look the same.
  • Despite its name it is not closely related to the American Tree Sparrow.

Voice

Song
Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

It differs from House Sparrow in its chestnut crown and the black spot on its white cheek; the sexes are alike. It is slightly slimmer than House Sparrow and has a narrow white collar and a small black bib. Young birds have a greyish head. The call is a clear, hard “chek chek”.

Family

Passeridae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

brown, white, black, grey

About the habitat

Open and semi-open landscapes – farmland with hedges, orchards, village edges, parks and woodland margins – often near human settlements.

Diet

Mainly seeds and grain of grasses, weeds and crops; in the breeding season also insects and other invertebrates. It readily visits feeders.

Behaviour

Social, often in small flocks outside the breeding season, feeding on the ground and in low vegetation with lively, chattering calls. It has no true song. It nests in holes in trees or buildings, in nest boxes and sometimes in the bases of large birds' nests, often in loose colonies, laying about five to six eggs.

Sources

Photo: Вячеслав Шуплецов, CC BY 4.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/5938076683

Sound: Max Karlsson, XC683396, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/683396

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC776834, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/776834

Sound: Tim Vochten, XC947260, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/947260

Text: Wikipedia (English) + FinBIF species descriptions, CC BY-SA 4.0; FinBIF: CC BY 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_tree_sparrow

See also