Passer domesticus
The ubiquitous House Sparrow, *Passer domesticus*, is a small, robust passerine, typically weighing 24-39 grams with a length of 14-16 cm and a wingspan of 21-25 cm. Males are distinctively marked with a grey crown, chestnut nape, black bib and lores, and a streaked brown back, while females are duller, largely brown with a plain streaky back and a pale supercilium. These intelligent birds belong to the family Passeridae, commonly known as the Old World sparrows, and are not closely related t...
Primarily an urban and suburban species, the House Sparrow thrives in close association with human dwellings, agricultural lands, and commercial areas. They are found from sea level to moderate elevations, occasionally reaching high altitudes in mountain towns.
House Sparrows are primarily granivorous, consuming a wide variety of seeds, but are highly omnivorous, supplementing their diet with insects, buds, fruit, and human food scraps. They forage mainly by ground gleaning and opportunistic scavenging.
House Sparrows are highly social and diurnal, often foraging in noisy groups and forming large, communal roosts in dense vegetation or man-made structures outside the breeding season. Their foraging strategy is opportunistic, involving ground gleaning for seeds and insects, but they readily explo...
The House Sparrow boasts an extraordinary global distribution, native to most of Eurasia and North Africa. Its breeding range originally spanned from Western Europe to East Asia, but human introduction has dramatically expanded its reach. It is now well-established across North and South America,...
Least Concern
- The House Sparrow is arguably the most widespread wild bird species in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica. - Despite their name, House Sparrows are not true sparrows in the same family as American sparrows; they belong to the Old World Sparrow family, Passeridae. - A single p...