One of the 4 sparrows on WAnimals
Birds · Passeriformes · Passeridae
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Passer montanus
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary
The smallest and most delicate of the European sparrows. It is told apart from the house sparrow by its intensely chestnut crown and nape and by a kidney-shaped black patch on each white cheek. It is the only species in its genus with no sexual dimorphism in the plumage.
Weight
20 g – 25 g
Size
12.5 cm – 14 cm
Lifespan
5 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Colony
Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.
Sighting difficulty
Easy
Estimated population
More than 2.5 million individuals in Spain
Fun facts
- In Europe it is a rural bird and the house sparrow occupies the cities; in East Asia it is exactly the other way round.
- Despite its scientific name montanus, it does not live in genuinely mountainous areas: in Switzerland it barely goes above 700 m.
- Pairs that breed in a colony raise more eggs and chicks in the first brood than solitary ones, but in the second the opposite happens.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
- Habitat & environment
- Wooded countryside, riverside groves and dehesas with open areas nearby to feed in. It is the most woodland-loving of the sparrows. From late summer it forms communal roosts in the reedbeds of cultivated plains
- Size at birth
- The chicks hatch without down, with pale yellow gape flanges
- Gestation / incubation
- 12-13 days, by both sexes. The chicks leave the nest at 12-15 days
- Litter / clutch size
- 4-6 eggs, with two or three clutches a year between mid-April and late August
Sources consulted: SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas, Hernández 2022); García-Navas 2016, Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles (MNCN-CSIC); Sánchez-Aguado 1984, Ardeola 31(1); IUCN Red List; Audubon Field Guide
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round; it is resident in Spain
Where to watch it
Parques y spots de buceo donde se ha documentado esta especie — se muestran 10 de 255 documentados.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Eurasian Tree Sparrow — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Spanish Sparrow
Passer hispaniolensis
House Sparrow
Passer domesticus
Rock Sparrow
Petronia petronia
Rose-ringed Parakeet
Psittacula krameri
Red-crested Pochard
Netta rufina
European Greenfinch
Chloris chloris
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