Other Names (World)
House Sparrow, Indian House Sparrow (indicus), Ceylon House Sparrow (indicus), Sparrow, English Sparrow, European Sparrow, Flying Rat, Avian Rat, Sprog, Spadger, Spriggy, Spidgie, Spoggy
Food
Mainly seeds, but also soft fruits, seedlings and flowers. Also household scraps, animal food. Young feed on invertebrates.
Voice
A constant, monotonous, 'chirup' and 'chissik'. A 'cheep' or 'chirrp'. Also harsh chatterings. In alarm or excitement a rattling 'kur-r-rit' and a sharp 'treeee' is uttered. A succession of chirps in song.
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) [XC871863]
by Cristopher Rodr\u00edguez-Moreira from Bay of C\u00e1diz (near Poblado de Sancti Petri), C\u00e1diz, Andaluc\u00eda, Spain (song)
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) [XC844925]
by Jorge Leit\u00e3o from Benchakitti Park (near Bangkok), Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, Thailand (call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
Mostly September - February.
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Nest
An untidy collection of straw and other soft material, usually with a side entrance, lined with feathers, in crevices of buildings or other manmade structures, holes in trees, forks of trees and shrubs. Somewhat larger than that of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus).
Eggs (Guide)
3 - 6; usually grey-white, variably marked in shades of grey and brown; oval; about 24 x 16 mm. Incubation: 12 - 14 days; by female.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 14 - 15 days.
Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Passer italiae and Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis). All three sometimes considered conspecific.
One subspecies (domesticus) introduced to Australia.
The following 12 subspecies are recognised:
domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Northern and western Europe (south to Iberia and south-central France) eastern in north-central Asia (south to Ukraine, northern Mongolia and north-eastern China) to mouth of R Amur, locally also Sakhalin I and western and eastern Kamchatka.
balearoibericus von Jordans, 1923 - Balearic Is, and southern France eastern (excluding Italy and most Mediterranean islands) to west-central Asia Minor.
tingitanus Loche, 1867 - North-western Africa (Morocco east to north-eastern Libya).
niloticus Nicoll & Bonhote, 1909 - Egypt (Nile Delta and Nile Valley).
biblicus Hartert, 1904 - South-eastern Turkey, Cyprus and Levant east to north-western Iran.
persicus Zarudny & Kudashev, 1916 - Central Iran (south of Elburz Mts) east to western and southern Afghanistan.
hyrcanus Zarudny & Kudashev, 1916 - South-eastern Azerbaijan and northern Iran (north of Elburz Mts).
indicus Jardine & Selby, 1831 - Southern Israel, southern Palestine and much of Arabia east to south-eastern Iran, peninsular India, Sri Lanka and central south-eastern Asia (east to Laos).
rufidorsalis Brehm, CL, 1855 - Sudan (Nile Valley south to 13° north) and east to Red Sea coast in Eritrea.
hufufae Ticehurst & Cheesman, 1924 - Eastern Arabian Peninsula.
bactrianus Zarudny & Kudashev, 1916 - Western Turkmenistan, north-eastern Iran and southern Kazakhstan east to Tien Shan, extreme north-western China (north-western Xinjiang) and north-western Pakistan.
parkini Whistler, 1920 - From Kashmir east to Nepal.
Similar Species
Male with Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) which lacks the grey head and rump and has a much smaller black throat patch, females and juveniles with Horsfield's Bushlark (Mirafra javanica) but has white edges to the tail and often a visible, short, blunt crest.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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