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Message: <blockquote data-quote="macrourus" data-source="post: 3002054" data-attributes="member: 43747">if of interest on the same subject, this is just the preliminary version on what will be much extended only on Spoarrow in the book we are working on about Sicilian Channel Island with the MISC team ..........Sparrows Passer sp. (Linnaeus, 1758): The taxonomy of resident sparrows in Italy, and especially Sicily, is highly controversial (Johnston, 1969; Lo Valvo & Lo Verde, 1987; Fulgione, et al. 2000; Corso, 2005). Massa (1985), Lo Valvo & Lo Verde (1987). Iapichino & Massa (1989) and AA.VV (2008) assign breeding populations in Sicily to Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis (Temminck, 1820) of the ssp. maltae (Hartert, 1902), while Corso (2005) considers the taxonomy of Sicilian populations (and the validity of the taxon maltae) to be unresolved. According to the latter author the Sicilian population is intermediate between Italian and Spanish Sparrows and its appearance is the  result of old genetic introgression: in light of the fact that the bill structure, measurements, and especially songs and calls of Sicilian birds are closer to the taxon italiae Vieillot, 1817 (especially birds those from the southern part of its range) or intermediate between italiae and hispaniolensis, Sicilian birds cannot be assigned to the latter taxon. Johnson (1969) and Cova (1977) had earlier come to the same conclusion. Recently, in their extensive genetic study, Hermansen, et al.(2011) consider Passer italiae Vieillot, 1817 to be a valid species of hybrid origin showing clinal variation from north to south, and include Sicily within the distribution of Italian Sparrow, as did Johnson (1969). Although they include Sicilian birds in italiae, they note that both phenotypically and genetically, these birds are much closer to hispaniolensis than other populations of italiae. In Appendix I, we follow Hermansen, et al (2011) in assigning the breeding birds on Pantelleria to italiae, but given the limited samples used for their genetic analysis, we believe that further study with more extensive samples is necessary in order to fully clarify the situation. The resident birds on Pantelleria show the phenotype associated with the maltae type (a taxon would loose taxonomical value and sub-specific validity following Hermansen, et al. 2011). As concerns pure Spanish Sparrow, we have regularly seen during migration conspicuous flocks of birds showing characters typical of nominate hispaniolensis. We have also seen birds showing the phenotypic and vocal (song and calls) characters of hispaniolensis breeding in isolated colonies (most probably irregularly) in the countryside (far from the main town); these birds breed in large nests in trees, and all individuals in the colonies show characters of hispaniolensis. We have observed on a few occasions birds showing some – but not all - characters of House Sparrow Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758), which appeared intermediate between this taxon and hispaniolensis or italiae; indeed, hybridization between hispaniolensis and domesticus is reported to be very common in North Africa (Vaurie, 1956, 1959; Heim de Balsac & Mayaud, 1962; Metzmacher, 1986; Isenmann & Moali, 2000, Isenmann, et al. 2005) and in the past a name was sometimes given to the mixed populations: var. “flückigeri” (Vaurie, 1959) when phenotypically closer to House Sparrow, while birds that appeared more like Italian Sparrow were occasionally assigned to the subspecies Passer italiae bergeri Zedlitz, 1912, the validity of which is no longer recognized (Gyldenstolpe, 1926; Summers-Smith, 1988). Therefore, we report domesticus as hypothetical for the island, pending photographic documentation of  more typical birds.</blockquote>

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