The House sparrow (Passer domesticus) is a small passerine bird found in most parts of the world. The extent of its range makes it the most widely distributed wild bird on the planet. Because of its numbers, ubiquity, and association with human settlements, the House sparrow is culturally prominent. It is extensively, and usually unsuccessfully, persecuted as an agricultural pest. It has also often been kept as a pet and was a food item. Though it is widespread and abundant, its numbers have declined in some areas.
The plumage of the House sparrow is mostly different shades of grey and brown. The sexes exhibit strong dimorphism: the female is mostly buffish above and below, while the male has boldly colored head markings, a reddish back, and grey underparts. The male has a dark grey crown from the top of its bill to its back, and chestnut brown flanking its crown on the sides of its head. It has black around its bill, on its throat, and on the spaces between its bill and eyes (lores). It has a small white stripe between the lores and crown and small white spots immediately behind the eyes (postoculars), with black patches below and above them. The underparts are pale grey or white, as are the cheeks, ear coverts, and stripes at the base of the head. The upper back and mantle are a warm brown, with broad black streaks, while the lower back, rump, and upper tail coverts are greyish brown. The male is duller in fresh nonbreeding plumage, with whitish tips on many feathers. Wear and preening expose many of the bright brown and black markings, including most of the black throat and chest patch, called the "bib" or "badge". The male's bill is dark grey, but black in the breeding season. The female has no black markings or grey crowns. Its upperparts and head are brown with darker streaks around the mantle and a distinct pale supercilium. Its underparts are pale grey-brown. The female's bill is brownish-grey and becomes darker in breeding plumage approaching the black of the male's bill. Juveniles are similar to adult female, but deeper brown below and paler above, with paler and less defined supercilia. Juvenile males tend to have darker throats and white postoculars like adult males, while juvenile females tend to have white throats. The bills of young birds are light yellow to straw, paler than the female's bill.
House sparrows are native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, a large part of Asia, and parts of North Africa. These birds are strongly associated with human habitation and can live in urban or rural settings. They are found in widely varied habitats and climates but typically avoid extensive woodlands, grasslands, and deserts away from human development. The only terrestrial habitats that House sparrows do not inhabit are dense forests and tundra.
House sparrows are very social birds. They are gregarious during all seasons when feeding, often forming flocks with other species of birds. They roost communally and while breeding nests are usually grouped together in clumps. House sparrows also engage in social activities such as dust or water bathing and "social singing", in which birds call together in bushes. These little birds feed mostly on the ground, but they flock in trees and bushes. At feeding stations and nests, females are dominant despite their smaller size, and they can fight over males in the breeding season. On the ground, House sparrows typically hop rather than walk; they can also swim when forced to do so by pursuit from predators. Most House sparrows do not move more than a few kilometers during their lifetimes. However, limited migration occurs in all regions. Some young birds disperse long distances, especially on coasts, and mountain birds move to lower elevations in winter. House sparrows are highly noisy. Most of their vocalizations are variations of their short chirping call that may sound like 'chirrup', 'tschilp', or 'philip'; this note is made as a contact call by flocking or resting birds, or by males to proclaim nest ownership and invite pairing. Much communal chirping occurs before and after the birds settle in the roost in the evening, as well as before the birds leave the roost in the morning. Aggressive males give a trilled version of their call, transcribed as 'chur-chur-r-r-it-it-it-it'. This call is also used by females in the breeding season, to establish dominance over males while displacing them to feed young or incubate eggs.
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