House Sparrow Passer domesticus   [Linnaeus, 1758]

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   Page updated:16-January-2013

Order: Passeriformes Family: Passeridae
BTO Codes: HS, HOUSP EURING No: 15910
Number in Britain: 13 million birds (Summer)
Conservation Status:
UK: RED
European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Declining
Global: (Details)
Links to: Images   Videos   Sound  
Status in UK: (A)  Resident Breeder
Subspecies: domesticus recorded in Britain (of 12 subsp. in the world)
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Length: 14 cm Wingspan: 24 cm Weight: M/F: 34 g    
Scientific name from: L.: passer=a sparrow and L.: domesticus=domestic (from domus=house)
World Distribution: Europe, n Africa, Asia, INTRODUCED: Americas, s&e Africa, Australia
Habitat: Near man
Diet: Seeds, also shoots, berries, scraps, nestlings mostly insects, mostly on ground, but will hover
TitBit: The House Sparrow nests in close association with man, but a nest 600m down a coal mine shaft in Yorkshire was exceptional.  

Population and Distribution

Population Trend: BirdTrends   
Regional Trends: Scotland   Wales   England   English Regions
Distribution: Atlas Maps   
Abundance Maps: Population Density   Change in Density   Guide to Interpretation
British Population Size:
    Summer: 13 million birds in 1994-00
    First Record: Recorded in Anglo-Saxon times [Fossil evidence from Devensian (last) glaciation, 10-120,000 yr ago]
    Latest Survey: Robinson et al. (2005) Ibis 147:552-562
    Conservation Status: RED because Recent Breeding Population Decline,
   Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 RED     1996-2001 GREEN  
   Races of Concern: domesticus RED (Recent Decline)
Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):
    Most frequent in: Towns
    Also common in: Villages
Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:
European Population Size:
    Summer: 53 to 110 million pairs   (Trend in Numbers)
Population Assesment from Birds in Europe
Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas
Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: None
Survey Results: Results from BirdTrack
Results from Garden BirdWatch
Results from the Winter Farmland Bird Survey
Results from BTO Report for Defra

Breeding and Survival

Egg Size: 22 x 16 mm Egg Weight: 2.9 g (of which 7 % is shell)
Number of Nest Records: 269
Clutch Size: 4 - 5 eggs 4.15 ± 0.84 (2 - 7) N = 2087
Incubation: 13- 15 days 13.61 ± 2.43 (9.5 - 18.5) N = 2087   by the: Female
Fledging: 15 - 17days 15.55 ± 2.00 (12 - 19) N = 2973 as: Altricial, naked
Source:
British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Nest Record Scheme data
First Clutches Laid: 14 May (27 Mar - 11 Jul)
Number of Broods: 2-3(4)
See trends in Breeding Productivity
Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.571 ± 0.009       
Juvenile Survival: 0.489 (in First-Year)  
Age at First Breeding: 1 year Typical Lifespan: 3 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 12 years 0 months 12 days (set in 1978)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics

Ring Size: B
Wing Length Adult: 76.9 ± 2.4     Range 62.0 - 89.0 mm, (N = 15876)
Juvenile: 73.7 ± 2.4     Range 59.0 - 89.0 mm, (N = 48674)
Male: 78.1 ± 2.0     Range 64.0 - 89.0 mm, (N = 9110)
Female: 75.4 ± 1.9     Range 62.0 - 89.0 mm, (N = 6692)
Weight Adult: 27.16 ± 3.88 Range 17.90 - 35.60 g , (N =13060)
Juvenile: 25.8 ± 2.2 Range 17.8 - 35.0 . , (N =42749)
Male: 27.24 ± 4.77 Range 17.90 - 35.30 g , (N =7482)
Female: 27.07 ± 2.17 Range 18.00 - 35.60 g , (N =5513)
Seasonal: Summer 27.05 ± 2.04 (N = 14385)   Autumn 27.56 ± 2.10 (N = 3011)   Winter 27.28 ± 1.93 (N = 10915)  
Source: British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

Other Names

 
Gaelic: Gealbhonn Welsh: Aderyn y Tô
Danish: Grĺspurv Dutch: Huismus
Finnish: Varpunen French: Moineau domestique
German: Haussperling Hungarian: Házi veréb
Icelandic: Gráspör Irish: Gealbhan Binne
Italian: Passera europea Norwegian: Grĺspurv
Polish: Wróbel zwyczajny Portuguese: Pardal-comum
Spanish: Gorrión doméstico Swedish: Grĺsparv
Local Names:Spug
Collective Noun:Host (or Tribe)

For More Information...

Books and Monographs:
   Summers-Smith, J.D. 1963 The house sparrow Collins, London [598.972 SUM]
   Summers-Smith, J.D. 1994 Studies of West Palearctic birds: House Sparrow British Birds 87:593-603
   Case, T.R. 2006 Biology of the ubiqitous House Sparrow University Press, Oxford [598.972 CAS]
See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
All About Birds (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Details from the Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead