House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Also called English sparrow.
Introduced from Europe in the 1850s and now among the most widespread birds on the continent. It is not a native sparrow — it is a weaver finch, and the plain unstreaked breast of the female gives it away.
- Size
- Sparrow-sized — 14–18 cm
- Bill
- Short and conical
- Where
- city, feeder, yard
- Season
- year round
What it looks like
The male has a grey crown, chestnut nape, a black bib over a pale grey chest and a stout black bill in summer. The female is plain dusty brown with a buff line behind the eye and no bib.
The checks that confirm it
- Male: a black bib and a grey crown with a chestnut band behind the eye.
- Female: plain buff-brown, unstreaked below, with a pale stripe behind the eye and no facial pattern.
- Almost always around buildings, car parks and pavements rather than in cover.
Voice
A monotonous, endlessly repeated 'cheep, cheep'. Not a song so much as a statement.
Attracting it
They will take anything, which is the problem — they dominate feeders and evict native cavity nesters. Millet and cracked corn draw them; safflower and nyjer draw them least.
Confused with
Heavily streaked below with a central breast spot, and a face patterned in brown and grey. Female house sparrows are plain below.
Male house finch is red on the head and chest, not black-bibbed; female is streaked below.
Questions about this bird
How do you identify a house sparrow?
Male: a black bib and a grey crown with a chestnut band behind the eye. Female: plain buff-brown, unstreaked below, with a pale stripe behind the eye and no facial pattern.
What does a house sparrow sound like?
A monotonous, endlessly repeated 'cheep, cheep'. Not a song so much as a statement.
How do you attract a house sparrow?
They will take anything, which is the problem — they dominate feeders and evict native cavity nesters. Millet and cracked corn draw them; safflower and nyjer draw them least.