House Sparrow
Passer domesticus· 雀科(4 photos)
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House Sparrow
14-16 cm. Male: bill blackish, robust; crown grey; nape/sides of neck chestnut; cheeks grey-white, unmarked. Throat/upperbreast black; smaller in winter. Female: bill horn-coloured; buff eyebrow; upperparts brown with paler/darker streaks; single pale bar across wing coverts. Immature: like female; gape yellow. Singles, pairs, flocks: bold, perky; forages in grainfields, poultry-yards, parks; raids food-tables.
- Similar Species
- Tree Sparrow.
- Voice
- insistent 'cheep'; tinny rattle.
- Habitat
- cities, towns, parks; homesteads/farm buildings,farmlands; dead trees in pastoral, cereal-growing areas; mallee, mulga.
- Breeding
- mostly spring-summer.
- Nest
- bulky, domed; of dry grass; lined with feathers; in dense shrub/tree, hollow limb; eaves, ceilings, ventilators, cavities in buildings.
- Eggs
- 4-6; grey-white, spotted/freckled grey, brown.
- Range & Status
- native to nw. Africa, Eurasia. Introduced s. Aust. from 1860s. Widespread in e. Aust. except driest deserts, heaviest forests; extending toward Top End settlements (NT); Oodnadatta-Mt Willoughby and w. to Cook (SA); Kangaroo I., other coastal islands; also Torres Strait. Sparrows anywhere in WA should be immediately reported to fauna authorities.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Passer domesticus domesticus
