House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Where is it found?
Alongside humans in urban and suburban habitats
Diet and foraging method
|
Opportunistic feeders, scavenging, ground feeding- picking seeds, grains, insects from the ground, catch insects in flight
|
Key adaptations
Different colourings and behaviours indicate to other sparrows which is the most dominant. More dominant males have more black on their throat, which is useful to indicate to other sparrows during territory selection and foraging.
Social organisation and mating system
Flocks
|
|
Monogamous breeding pairs
Did you know that...?
House Sparrows can swim. This is particularly useful when escaping from some predators.
Taxonomy
Picture credits:
Maps from: http://species.mol.org/species/
"Passer domesticus 03" by Arnold Paul - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passer_domesticus_03.jpg#/media/File:Passer_domesticus_03.jpg
"House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)- Female in Kolkata I IMG 3787 (cropped)" by House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787.jpg: J.M.Gargderivative work: Totodu74 (talk) - House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787_(cropped).jpg
"House Sparrows mating I IMG 0066" by J.M.Garg - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_Sparrows_mating_I_IMG_0066.jpg#/media/File:House_Sparrows_mating_I_IMG_0066.jpg
"Male House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) carrying nesting material" by Keith - originally posted to Flickr as Male House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Male_House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)_carrying_nesting_material.jpg#/media/File:Male_House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)_carrying_nesting_material.jpg
"Passerdomesticuseggs" by Notafly - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passerdomesticuseggs.JPG#/media/File:Passerdomesticuseggs.JPG
"House sparrow chick" by User:Rex - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_sparrow_chick.jpg#/media/File:House_sparrow_chick.jpg
"Passer domesticus juvenile Square Trousseau, Paris, France" by Milvus - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passer_domesticus_juvenile_Square_Trousseau,_Paris,_France.jpg#/media/File:Passer_domesticus_juvenile_Square_Trousseau,_Paris,_France.jpg
"Faroe stamp 344 house sparrow (passer domesticus)" by Astrid Andreasen - Faroe stamp. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faroe_stamp_344_house_sparrow_(passer_domesticus).jpg#/media/File:Faroe_stamp_344_house_sparrow_(passer_domesticus).jpg
"Passer domesticus 03" by Arnold Paul - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passer_domesticus_03.jpg#/media/File:Passer_domesticus_03.jpg
"House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)- Female in Kolkata I IMG 3787 (cropped)" by House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787.jpg: J.M.Gargderivative work: Totodu74 (talk) - House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787.jpg. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787_(cropped).jpg#/media/File:House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)-_Female_in_Kolkata_I_IMG_3787_(cropped).jpg
"House Sparrows mating I IMG 0066" by J.M.Garg - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_Sparrows_mating_I_IMG_0066.jpg#/media/File:House_Sparrows_mating_I_IMG_0066.jpg
"Male House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) carrying nesting material" by Keith - originally posted to Flickr as Male House Sparrow (Passer domesticus). Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Male_House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)_carrying_nesting_material.jpg#/media/File:Male_House_Sparrow_(Passer_domesticus)_carrying_nesting_material.jpg
"Passerdomesticuseggs" by Notafly - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passerdomesticuseggs.JPG#/media/File:Passerdomesticuseggs.JPG
"House sparrow chick" by User:Rex - Own work. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:House_sparrow_chick.jpg#/media/File:House_sparrow_chick.jpg
"Passer domesticus juvenile Square Trousseau, Paris, France" by Milvus - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Passer_domesticus_juvenile_Square_Trousseau,_Paris,_France.jpg#/media/File:Passer_domesticus_juvenile_Square_Trousseau,_Paris,_France.jpg
"Faroe stamp 344 house sparrow (passer domesticus)" by Astrid Andreasen - Faroe stamp. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Faroe_stamp_344_house_sparrow_(passer_domesticus).jpg#/media/File:Faroe_stamp_344_house_sparrow_(passer_domesticus).jpg
