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Revision as of 08:49, 7 February 2011

Photo by rayh
Carsington Water, England, February 2004

Alternative names: Tree Sparrow; European Tree Sparrow

Passer montanus

Identification

14 - 15cm. A small, neat-looking sparrow:

• Chestnut crown and nape
• White cheeks with a black spot
• Small black bib not expanding on breast
• Narrow white neck-collar
• Black-streaked brown back
• Distinct white wing-bar
• Dusky underparts

Sexes and ages similar.
The subspecies mainly differ in plumage tones and in size. Those in arid regions tend to be paler (eg. dilutus), those in tropical humid areas darker (eg. malaccensis)

Similar Species

House Sparrow, which has a grey head and lacks the white cheeks.

Distribution

Widespread from Europe east over Russia to China and southeast Asia. Introduced populations in Australia and the US (St. Louis, Missouri). In Europe breeds in coastal Ireland and Britain (but rather uncommon in the north), and from western France, north and eastern Iberia east across Europe to the Urals and Caspian reaching coastal and southern Scandinavia, the Baltic States and the White Sea. In the south occurs on the Mediterranean coasts of Spain and France, Italy and Sicily, the Balkans, patchily in west, central and northern Turkey and the Caucasus. Formerly bred in the Faroes and has bred Morocco, recently in Malta and Gozo] introduced to Sardinia. Rare breeder in the Canary Islands, found only on Gran Canaria. Resident or partial migrant over most of range and winter visitor to the larger Mediterranean islands. Vagrants recorded in Gibraltar and North-West Africa, Egypt and Israel.

Legend • Passer montanus; year-round Maps/Texts consulted2

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

• P. m. montanus: Europe to north Africa, northern Mongolia, Manchuria and Sea of Okhotsk
• P. m. transcaucasicus: Southern Caucasus (Black Sea coast of Georgia to northern Iran)
  • Generally duller and greyer above, whiter below
• P. m. dilutus: Transcaspia to western Pakistan, Gobi Desert and western China (Xinjiang)
• P. m. dybowskii: Eastern Asia (lower Amur River to Manchuria and northern Korea)
• P. m. kansuensis: Western China (Zaidam basin and northern Gansu)
• P. m. iubilaeus: Eastern China (Liaoning to lower Yangtze River and Shaanxi)
• P. m. obscuratus: Nepal to north-eastern India, Myanmar and west-central China (Sichuan to Hubei)
• P. m. saturatus: Southern Kuril Island, Japan, South Korea, Ryukyu Island, Taiwan and south-eastern China
• P. m. malaccensis: Central Myanmar, Malaya, Hainan, Vietnam and western Indonesia

Habitat

Open woodland and along woodland edges, parkland and farmland with copses and hedgerows. In parts of the range quite frequent in suburbs or even in urban areas.

Behaviour

Highly gregarious, this bird prefers the vicinity of humans.

Diet

Feeds mainly on seed of herbs, grasses and cereals. Takes also animal food like spiders and insects during breeding season.

Breeding

Secondary cavity nester. Not aggressive or pugnacious like the House Sparrow, but may attempt to claim a box used by another bird.

Vocalisation

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references

External Links