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24

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) Size: 14-16 cm; wing span: 21-22.5 cm Weight: 24-40 g

Oman: Family Group 24 Family Group 24 Table Grey Wagtail White Wagtail House Sparrow Indian Silverbill Striolated Bunting Black-crowned Sparrow Lark Tree Pipit Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Birds of Oman home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description House Sparrows are small, but sturdily-built finch-like birds. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. During the breeding season male House Sparrows have a prominent black bib on throat and upper chest and rich-brown supercilia and eye stripes. The crown and the ear coverts are grey to dusky-grey. The mantle and part of the wing coverts are rich-brown, streaked black. The rest of the front is grey, with slightly darker grey streaking. Also the rump is grey. The flight feathers are dark-grey, with broad light-brown edges. The wings have a prominent white wing bar. In eclipse the rich-brown becomes much duller and the bib is reduced to a small chin patch with some vermiculation below the chin. Males have a dark-grey triangular-shaped bill. Female House Sparrows have a lighter-grey bill. Their plumage is pale brownish-grey where the males' is rich-brown and their supercilia are light-grey to cinnamon. Both sexes have black irises and pinkish-grey legs and feet. Juvenile House Sparrows have plainer colours yet than adult females, with a pinkish bill and an orange gape.

Taxonomy, classification See House Sparrow at Wikipedia . NB: The name of the family of sparrows, "Passer", is used in the definition of passerine vs. non-passerine birds.

Range, habitat Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the House Sparrow is available HERE . There are about 12 recognized races of House Sparrows, split into 2 groups, the "domesticus" group and the "indicus" group, which altogether have a wide-ranging distribution. They are present all through Europe, except the northernmost parts and highest mountain ranges of Scandinavia, the Alps, Italy (where the Italian Sparrow, "Passer italiae" is a separate species) and all of the major islands in the Mediterranean Sea. There is also a population in parts of the north-African coastal fringe, along the river Nile and in some oases in the Sahara desert. Their range extends eastward and south-eastward through eastern Europe into all of mid-latitude Asia, throughout Russia and Kazakhstan to the eastern Siberian sea shore. Towards the South-east their distribution extends via Asia Minor into parts of the Middle East, most of Arabia (except the arid quarter) and into southern and south-eastern Asia, (Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India into southern Burma (for details see e.g. Wikipedia). Apart from their native range, they have also been introduced to various continents/islands (South Africa, Australia/New Zealand, both North and South America and Iceland). Race "domesticus" is the most widely introduced one. House Sparrows, race "hufufae", are found in north-eastern Arabia (parts of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and northern Oman).

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "hufufae" House Sparrows, race "hufufae", are permanent residents on the Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, Oman. They were seen there by us on a daily basis in the time frame August 2009 - May 2010. They were also spotted in Jebel Akhdar, South-west of Muscat, in February 2010, at elevations of well above 2000 m. Race "domesticus" House Sparrows, race "domesticus", were spotted by us in Europe. Race "balearoibericus" House Sparrows, race "balearoibericus", were spotted in Europe.

Photos

Race "hufufae"

ADULT

MALE

BREEDING

Frontal view of a male House Sparrow in breeding plumage; note the extensive black bib and rich-brown supercilium
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, February 2010]

NON-BREEDING

Full-frontal view of a male House Sparrow in non-breeding plumage feeding on the ground; note the inconspicuous, patchy bib
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Near-lateral view of a male House Sparrow in non-breeding plumage foraging on the ground
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Lateral view of a male House Sparrow in non-breeding plumage, which is much less conspicuous, with less contrast than the breeding plumage
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Lateral view of a male House Sparrow in non-breeding plumage hard on the brakes going downhill
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Male House Sparrows taking a bath, with a female in the background
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

FEMALE

Near-frontal view of a female House Sparrow feeding on the ground
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Near-lateral view of a female House Sparrow feeding on the ground
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Lateral view of a female House Sparrow feeding on the ground, here in different light conditions
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

Group of House Sparrows in their "bathroom"
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, October 2009]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a young House Sparrow seeing itself confronted with the harsh reality of living in Arabia - heat and thirst
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Lateral view of a young House Sparrow in the same situation
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Lateral view of a fledgling House Sparrow checking out what is, and what is not, edible while at the same time trying not to fall off the twig
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, September 2009]

Partly obscured lateral/ventral view of a fledgling House Sparrow; note the prominent yellow gape
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, February 2010]

Race "domesticus"

House Sparrows, race "domesticus", were photographed by us in Europe.

Race "balearoibericus"

House Sparrows, race "balearoibericus", were photographed in Europe.

Breeding information

Breeding season: Apr - Sep

Eggs: 4 - 5

Incubation period: 10 - 14 days

Fledging age: 10 - 19 days

The breeding season depends a lot on geographical latitude and climatic conditions. The period listed in the table above applies to central Europe. Also incubation and fledging times depend on external circumstances. Note that House Sparrows are one of only a few bird species that can reach breeding age in the same season they hatched.

Nest building: Male (& female)

Incubation: Female (& male)

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

Type: (Domed) basket, hollow

Material: Twigs, roots, grass, leaves, feathers

Height above ground: 2 - 10(?) m

We have no photo of a nest just yet, but the following attempt by a male to find material for lining its nest.

This male House Sparrow, which is still moulting into full breeding plumage, seems to be sizing up the feather it wants to use

Grabbing it is no problem at all, but in the end air resistance proved too much and the bird let the feather fall again

Eggs

Size: 21 x 15 mm

Colour: White, with light-grey speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

House Sparrows are very sociable birds - here a dead tree full of them
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, May 2010]

Food, Diet

House Sparrows are omnivores, with a preference for grain and insects. During the breeding season an ample supply of insects is required for feeding the young, but also for the females to build up energy.

Near-lateral view of a male House Sparrow in non-breeding plumage feeding on the ground
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, November 2009]

These House Sparrows may be feeding on flowers; whether they were taking nectar, petals or insects from the flowers could not be established
[Campus of Sultan Qaboos University, near Muscat, April 2010]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

passdom_dw_20170119_2.m4a	domesticus (Poland)	Contact calls	© DW
passdom_dw_20170119_1.m4a	domesticus (Poland)	Contact calls	© DW
passdom_jp_20200605.m4a	domesticus (Portugal)	Contact calls	© JP

More House Sparrow sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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