House Sparrow | Audubon Field Guide

Skip to main content

• Menu
• Audubon
• Magazine
• Español
• Our Work
  • Protecting Bird Habitats
    • Coasts and Oceans
    • Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands
    • Grasslands, Aridlands, and Forests
    • Cities, Towns, and Parks
    • Audubon Across the Hemisphere
    • Bending the Bird Curve
  • Climate Solutions
    • Our Climate Strategy
    • Birds and Clean Energy
    • Natural Climate Solutions
    • Restoration and Resiliency
  • Policy and Advocacy
    • Audubon Advocacy
    • Climate Policy and Renewable Energy
  • Our Science in Action
    • Audubon Science
    • Migratory Bird Initiative
    • Birds and Climate Change
    • Important Bird Areas
  • Latest News
    • Bird and Conservation News
    • Press Room
  • Why Birds?
• About Us
  • Who We Are
    • Our Mission
    • Our History
    • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
    • Leadership & Board of Directors
    • Reports & Financials
    • Find Audubon Near You
    • Work With Us
  • Where We Work
    • States
      • Alaska
      • Arizona
      • Arkansas
      • California
      • Colorado
      • Connecticut
      • Florida
      • Illinois
      • Indiana
      • Iowa
      • Louisiana
      • Maryland
      • Michigan
      • Minnesota
      • Mississippi
      • Missouri
      • Nebraska
      • New Mexico
      • New York
      • North Carolina
      • North Dakota
      • Ohio
      • Pennsylvania
      • South Carolina
      • South Dakota
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • Vermont
      • Washington
      • Wisconsin
      • Wyoming
    • Americas
      • Belize
      • Bolivia
      • Canada
      • Chile
      • Colombia
      • Ecuador
      • Mexico
      • Panama
      • Peru
      • The Bahamas
• Explore Birds
  • Bird Search & ID
    • Visit Our Guide To North American Birds
    • Download the Audubon Bird Guide App
  • Get Into Birding
    • Birding Hub
    • How to Get Started
    • Tips For Identifying Birds
    • Birding Advice and Stories
    • Frequently Asked Bird Questions
  • Birding at Home
    • Bird Feeding and Care
    • Search for Native Plants
    • Audubon Birdseed, Houses, and More
  • Gear Guides
    • Gear and Resources
    • Binocular Guide
    • Spotting Scope Guide
  • Photography
    • Bird Photography Hub
    • Tips for Photographing Birds
    • Camera and Equipment Advice
    • Audubon Photography Awards
  • Avian Art
    • The Aviary
    • The Audubon Mural Project
    • John James Audubon's Birds of America
    • The Sketch by Jason Polan
    • The Birdsong Project
  • Search for Birds in Your Area
• Get Involved
  • Take Action
    • Action Center
    • Take Action to Protect Habitat for Birds and People
    • Protect and Restore Bird Habitat in the Gulf Coast
    • Save Irreplaceable Bird Science Programs
  • Audubon Near You
    • Audubon Near You
    • Events
    • Audubon on Campus
    • Visit an Audubon Center
  • Community Science
    • Community Science at Audubon
    • Christmas Bird Count
    • Climate Watch
    • Great Backyard Bird Count
  • For Kids
    • Audubon for Kids
    • Audubon Adventures
    • Audubon Nature Camps
  • Find Ways to Get Involved
• Membership & Giving
  • Membership
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Gift a Membership
  • Donate
    • Donate
    • Great Egret Society
    • The Canopy
    • In Memorial Gifts
    • In Honor Gifts
    • Matching Gifts
  • Giving Other Assets
    • Gifts of Appreciated Stock
    • IRA Charitable Gifts
    • Real Estate Gifts
    • Legacy Gifts
    • Donor Advised Funds
  • Shop
    • Audubon Marketplace
    • Birdhouses and Feeders
    • Bird Seed
    • Calendars
    • Puzzles, Games and DIY Kits
  • More Ways to Give
• Near me
• Search
  • Search Audubon Recent Popular Search
    • Ways to Give
    • Audubon Near You
    • Native Plants Database
    • Audubon App
    Search the site Search Bird Guide
• Near me

  Your Location

  Getting up nearby offices, centers, sanctures and chapters

  Showing offices, chapters, centers and sanctuaries near you.

  Zip Code Change Use My Location

  No Audubon locations nearby

  Explore our locations

  Nearest Centers and Sanctuaries

  Nearest Chapters

  State Office

  More Near You

• Donate

Open Search Bird GuideOld World SparrowsHouse Sparrow Listen 5 House Sparrow House Sparrow Passer domesticus At a Glance Range & Identification Behavior Conservation Back to Top

At a Glance

One of the most widespread and abundant songbirds in the world today, the House Sparrow has a simple success formula: it associates with humans. Native to Eurasia and northern Africa, it has succeeded in urban and farming areas all over the world -- including North America, where it was first released at New York in 1851. Tough, adaptable, aggressive, it survives on city sidewalks where few birds can make a living; in rural areas, it may evict native birds from their nests. All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Category Old World Sparrows, Perching Birds IUCN Status Least Concern Habitat Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Urban and Suburban Habitats Region California, Eastern Canada, Florida, Great Lakes, Mid Atlantic, New England, Northwest, Plains, Rocky Mountains, Southeast, Southwest, Texas, Western Canada Behavior Direct Flight, Flitter Population 740.000.000

Range & Identification

Migration & Range Maps

Permanent resident over most of its range, including throughout North America.

Description

5-6 1/2" (13-17 cm). Male has black bib, white cheeks, gray crown, chestnut nape. Female also attractive with a close look, with pale buff eyebrow, plain gray chest, stripes of black and buff on brown back. Size About the size of a Robin, About the size of a Sparrow Color Black, Brown, Gray, Tan, White Wing Shape Fingered, Rounded Tail Shape Notched, Rounded, Square-tipped

Songs and Calls

Shrill, monotonous, noisy chirping. Call Pattern Falling, Flat Call Type Chirp/Chip, Rattle

Habitat

Cities, towns, farms. General surroundings vary, but in North America essentially always found around manmade structures, never in unaltered natural habitats. Lives in city centers, suburbs, farms; also around isolated houses or businesses surrounded by terrain unsuited to House Sparrows, such as desert or forest. Sign up for Audubon's newsletter to learn more about birds like the House Sparrow Email Zip Phone (optional) By submitting my mobile number I agree to receive periodic text messages from Audubon at 42248 about how I can help birds. Reply STOP to any message to unsubscribe. Message & data rates may apply. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Behavior

Eggs

Usually 3-6, sometimes 2-7, rarely 1-8. Whitish to greenish white, with brown and gray dots concentrated toward larger end. Incubation is by both parents, 10-14 days.

Young

Both parents feed the nestlings. Young leave nest about 2 weeks after hatching. 2-3 broods per year.

Feeding Behavior

Forages mostly while hopping on ground. May perch on weed stalks to reach seeds. Adaptable in seeking food, may take smashed insects from the fronts of parked cars, or search tree bark for insects. Comes to bird feeders for a wide variety of items.

Diet

Mostly seeds. In most situations, great majority of diet is weed and grass seeds or waste grain. Also eats some insects, especially in summer. In urban surroundings, also scavenges crumbs of food left by humans.

Nesting

In courtship, male displays by hopping near female with his tail raised, wings drooped, chest puffed out, bowing and chirping. Often breeds in small colonies. Pairs defend only a small territory in the immediate vicinity of nest, chasing away all intruders. Nest: Usually in an enclosed niche such as cavity in tree, hole in building, rain gutter, birdhouse, nests of other birds. Where such sites are scarce, will nest in open in tree branches. Nest (built by both parents) is made of material such as grass, weeds, twigs, trash, often lined with feathers. Inside enclosed space, material forms foundation; in open sites, nest is a globular mass with entrance on side.

Conservation

Conservation Status

Probably has affected some native birds by competing for nest sites and food. Eastern population peaked around 1900, has been gradually declining in recent years. Change in Abundance Over Time Drawing on more than a century of community science from the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), this chart shows how this species’ relative abundance has shifted in recent decades. Explore more and get involved in the CBC.

Climate Map

Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect the range of the House Sparrow. Learn even more in Audubon’s Survival By Degrees project.

Climate Threats Facing the House Sparrow

Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too. ¡Atención!

La página que intenta visitar sólo está disponible en inglés. ¡Disculpa!

The page you are about to visit is currently only available in English. Sorry!

OK