Saturday 1 August 2009

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

OTHER NAMES: Sparrow, English Sparrow
Latin Etymology: Passer ("sparrow") domesticus ("of the house")
Adult male and female House Sparrows (subspecies P. d. domesticusi) at Geddington, Northants - January 2022

Featured Subspecies: Passer domesticus domesticus
Weight: 24-40g  /  Length: 14-18cm  /  Wingspan: 19-25cm
UK RED LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

One of the most common birds in Britain, and indeed, the most widely distributed bird species on earth - though oddly enough, the hardest places to see them are now inner-city areas where they are suffering massive declines. Living in a village however, they remain one of the most common birds in my area, and usually found in decent sized flocks in most hedges and shrub-areas. Primarily a seed eating bird, in Europe they are fairly ubiquitous, though in Asia the Tree-Sparrow replaces them as the common City Sparrow.  In North America they are an invasive feral species that has been massively successful, often at the expense of native birds.


Further Information:

Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passeridae
Genus: Passer
Subspecies: P. d. domesticus, P. d. balearoibericus, P. d. tingitanus, P. d. niloticus, P. d. persicus, P. d. biblicus, P. d. hyrcanus, P. d. bactrianus, P. d. parkini, P. d. indicus, P. d. hufufae, P. d. rufidorsalis  

 - Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM - Abundant breeding species (5,300,000 pairs)
 - A common resident seen at locations including Geddington, Rutland WaterPitsford Reservoir and Rainham Marshes
SPAIN - Spanish Gorrión común ("Common Sparrow")
Breeding resident.  
 - SEVILLE 2011 TRIP: Seen at El Rocio and Seville
 - MADRID 2015 TRIP: Seen in Madrid        
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Seen in Madrid  
UNITED STATES 
Invasive species found over entire Lower 48 and Hawai'i
 - CALIFORNIA 2022 TRIP: Seen at Monterey           

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