Spanish Sparrow

Passer hispaniolensis (Temminck, 1820)

15–16 cmLength24 gWeight

Very similar to House Sparrow, the male has a chestnut crown, white cheeks and heavily black-marked underparts.

Busiest months: March–April · Most records: Spain, Israel, Portugal

Looks like House Sparrow

Least Concern

How to identify

Field marks

Male's crown chestnut rather than gray
Male's cheeks white rather than gray
Male's underparts heavily marked with black streaks
Bill slightly longer and thicker than House Sparrow's

Male, female and young

The female is gray-brown, with overall plumage almost indistinguishable from House Sparrow's but more conspicuous markings; sides slightly streaked, supercilium pale cream and back with broad cream streaks.

Voice

The male gives paired, loud, two-syllable chirps near the nest, transcribed as “chweeng-chweeng, cheela-cheeli”.

Similar species

House Sparrow

This species is slightly larger, with a slightly longer, thicker bill. The male has heavily black-marked underparts, a chestnut crown and white cheeks; House Sparrow has a gray crown and cheeks.

Where and when it's recorded

Spanish Sparrow has been recorded at 441 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 47 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel3,101 records
Sureste PNat – Ruta del Soto GutiérrezSpain1,515 records
La Janda – ÁreaSpain1,192 records

More places

Sureste PNat – Soto de las JuntasSpain1,058 records
Charca de MaspalomasSpain983 records
Brazo del Este PjeNat – ÁreaSpain958 records
Laguna de NavasecaSpain789 records
Sureste PNat – Miralrío, Velilla de San AntonioSpain757 records
Hatzuk Beach TLVIsrael731 records
Aras Kuş Halkalama İstasyonuTürkiye678 records

Countries and regions with the most records

Spain Israel Portugal Greece Türkiye Malta Bulgaria Cyprus

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The Spanish sparrow or willow sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and south-west and central Asia. It is very similar to the closely related house sparrow, and the two species show their close relation in a "biological mix-up" of hybridisation in the Mediterranean region, which complicates the taxonomy of this species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Spanish Sparrow?

The Spanish Sparrow is about 15–16 cm long and weighs around 24 g.

Where does the Spanish Sparrow live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic: southern temperate to subtropical southwestern, south-central Palearctic in riparian and cultivated areas: Madeira, Canary and Cape Verde Islands (Macaronesia, northwestern, west of northern Africa), patchily from Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, Greece, Balkans, Cyprus and Turkey through southern Kazakhstan and northwestern Xinjiang (northwestern China), in south from northern Morocco through northern Libya, Israel, northern, central Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Afghanistan. It is most often recorded in Spain, Israel and Portugal.

When is the best time to see the Spanish Sparrow?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in March and April (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Spanish Sparrow endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Spanish Sparrow as Least Concern.

What does the Spanish Sparrow eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Spanish Sparrow in?

It belongs to the family Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches (Passeridae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Length: 15–16 cm
Weight: 24 g
Habitat: Shrubland
Diet: Seeds
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Resident (barely migrates)
Conservation: Least Concern

More measurements

Wing: 76 mm
Tail: 55 mm
Bill: 15 mm
Tarsus: 20 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic: southern temperate to subtropical southwestern, south-central Palearctic in riparian and cultivated areas: Madeira, Canary and Cape Verde Islands (Macaronesia, northwestern, west of northern Africa), patchily from Iberian Peninsula, Sardinia, Greece, Balkans, Cyprus and Turkey through southern Kazakhstan and northwestern Xinjiang (northwestern China), in south from northern Morocco through northern Libya, Israel, northern, central Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Afghanistan

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1