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Latin name

Passer domesticus

Family

Sparrows (Passeridae)

Overview

Noisy and gregarious, these cheerful exploiters of man's rubbish and wastefulness, have even managed to colonise most of the world. The ultimate opportunist perhaps, but now struggling to survive in the UK along with many other once common birds. They are clearly declining in both gardens and the wider countryside and their recent declines have earned them a place on the Red List.

Where to see them

Found from the centre of cities to the farmland of the countryside, it feeds and breeds near to people. Vanishing from the centre of many cities, but not uncommon in most towns and villages. It is absent from parts of the Scottish Highlands and is thinly distributed in most upland areas.

When to see them

All year round

What they eat

Seeds and scraps

Estimated numbers

* UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.

Distribution

Please note that the map is only intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.

Find out more

• Breeding
• Legal status
• Orphaned birds
• Population trends
• Relations with man
• Relations with other animals

Audio is from commercial recordings Bird Songs and Calls of Britain and Europe on 4 CDs or Bird Sounds of Europe & North-west Africa, copyright WildSounds & CEBA (www.wildsounds.com, (UK) +44 (0) 1263 741100)

3 illustrations 123

Male

Female

Juvenile

Similar birds

Tree sparrow

Dunnock