Sparrows, Italy/France border region (1 Viewer)

[rylirk]

I saw some sparrows in Ventimiglia, Italy (first photo), and went to report it as House Sparrow only to find that it was flagged by eBird as 'notable' due to rarity, presumably in favour of Italian Sparrow... but to my eyes this is pretty unambiguously a House Sparrow? Just wanted to post here to make sure I'm not going crazy!

Second image is from Monaco, and I'm wondering if it may be a House x Italian hybrid. Both photos are from January 2025.

Thanks!

 

[nartreb]

You're not crazy. I'm certainly no expert but that solid grey crown looks a lot more like House than Italian to me.

I don't think "notable" implies any doubt about your ID, but I'm no expert in eBird either.

 

[Paul Chapman]

I would agree with House Sparrow & House * Italian Sparrow hybrid & submit them as such on eBird. I suspect that it rather depends on the eBird filters what is triggered - it may be as simple as needing a filter to cover a region & the range only impacting into part of it - & the attitude of reviewers to the subtlety of hybrid characteristics will be another factor. But clearly an interesting zone. They may just want to ensure an additional level of accuracy on plotting the inter-relationships between the two & sightings. Understandably.

I couldn't persuade my travelling companions to allow me much time on the Sparrows on Corsica but they looked very variable. I must get to Italy and rectify that by spending more time.

All the best

Paul