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House Sparrow

House Sparrow

Passer domesticus

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The House Sparrow is a small, robust sparrow native to Europe, the Mediterranean and much of Asia that has spread with people to most of the world. Closely tied to human settlements, it thrives in towns, cities and farms, nesting and feeding near people. It eats mainly seeds but feeds its young insects. Although still widespread and abundant, it has declined sharply in many regions.

Did you know?

  • The House Sparrow is the most widely distributed wild bird in the world.
  • The size of a male's black bib signals its social status.

Voice

Song
Call
Flight call

About the species

Identification

A sturdy sparrow with a strong, conical bill and a brown back streaked with black. The male has a clear black bib, a grey crown, chestnut sides to the crown and a white wing bar; the female lacks the black bib and has a pale, dirty-buff supercilium and a more subdued grey-brown look. It differs from Eurasian Tree Sparrow in its grey crown and lack of a black cheek spot (Tree Sparrows of both sexes have a brown crown and black cheek spot).

Family

Passeridae

Size

Small (sparrow)

Colours

brown, grey, black, white

About the habitat

Closely tied to human environments – town centres, suburbs, farmyards, parks and gardens; scarce in dense forest and uninhabited areas.

Diet

Mainly seeds and grain, including spilt cereals and weed seeds, as well as buds and food scraps; in the breeding season it catches insects and other invertebrates, especially for the chicks.

Behaviour

Social and noisy, it forages in flocks on the ground and gathers in communal roosts, keeping contact with frequent chirps. Males advertise nest sites with a vigorous, repeated chirp. It bathes in dust or water and nests in cavities, under eaves and in nest boxes near people, often in loose colonies.

Sources

Photo: JrPol, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Huismus, man.jpg

Sound: Benoît Van Hecke, XC543237, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/543237

Sound: Joost van Bruggen, XC433157, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://xeno-canto.org/433157

Sound: Sonothèque ADVL, XC776633, CC0 1.0 https://xeno-canto.org/776633

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

See also