Spanish Sparrow
The Spanish Sparrow is a passerine in the sparrow family. It is a rather large sparrow at 6 to 6.5 inches in length. It is slightly larger and heavier than the House Sparrows and it also has a slightly longer and stouter bill. The male is similar to the House Sparrow in plumage but it differs in that its underparts are heavily streaked with black, it has a chestnut rather than grey crown and it has white rather than grey cheeks. The female is effectively inseparable from the House Sparrow in its plumage which is grey-brown overall but more boldly marked. The female has light streaking on its sides, a pale cream supercilium and broad cream streaks on its back. The Spanish Sparrow's vocalisations are similar to those of the House Sparrow.
The Spanish Sparrow is a close relative of the House Sparrow. Its taxonomy is greatly complicated by the "biological mix-up" it forms with the House Sparrow in the Mediterranean. In most of the Mediterranean, one or both of the species occurs, with only a limited degree of hybridisation. On the Italian peninsula and on Corsica, the 2 species are replaced by the Italian Sparrow, a puzzling type of sparrow apparently intermediate between the Spanish Sparrow and the House Sparrow.
The Italian Sparrow has been classified as a hybrid with the House Sparrow, the same species as the Spanish Sparrow, the same species as the House Sparrow and as a separate species. The Spanish Sparrow also hybridises freely with the House Sparrow in parts of north Africa (north east Algeria, Tunisia and north west Libya), forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure House Sparrow to pure Spanish Sparrow.
The Spanish Sparrow has a highly complex distribution in the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and south west to central Asia. It breeds mostly in a band of latitude about 15 degrees wide from the Danube valley and the Aral Sea in the north to Libya and central Iran in the south. Its range has expanded greatly by natural colonisation over the last 2 centuries. Vagrants occur widely as far north as Scotland and Norway.
Two sub-species of Spanish Sparrow are usually recognised: the western sub-species hispaniolensis and the eastern sub-species transcaspicus. The western sub-species hispaniolensis breeds in parts of Iberia and north Africa, some islands and the Balkans whilst the eastern sub-species transcaspicus breeds from Anatolia and Cyprus through the Middle East and central Asia to far west China.
In most of its range, the Spanish Sparrow can be found alongside the House Sparrow. In such areas, both species breed in farmland and open woodland with the Spanish Sparrow preferring moister habitats. In areas where the House Sparrow is absent, the Spanish Sparrow may live in urban habitats.
The Spanish Sparrow is strongly gregarious and nests in large colonies of closely spaced or even multiple shared nests. Nests are usually placed in trees or bushes either amongst branches or underneath the nests of larger birds such as the White Stork. Colonies may hold from 10 pairs to hundreds of thousands of pairs. Each pair lays 3 to 8 eggs which hatch after 12 days with the chicks fledging when about 14 days old.
Like other sparrows, the Spanish Sparrow feeds principally on the seeds of grains and other grasses but it also eats leaves, fruits and other plant materials. Young birds are fed mostly on insects and adults also feed on insects and other animals during and before the breeding season.
Date: 21st May 2018
Location: near Dimcevo, Burgas Province, Bulgaria
The Spanish Sparrow is a close relative of the House Sparrow. Its taxonomy is greatly complicated by the "biological mix-up" it forms with the House Sparrow in the Mediterranean. In most of the Mediterranean, one or both of the species occurs, with only a limited degree of hybridisation. On the Italian peninsula and on Corsica, the 2 species are replaced by the Italian Sparrow, a puzzling type of sparrow apparently intermediate between the Spanish Sparrow and the House Sparrow.
The Italian Sparrow has been classified as a hybrid with the House Sparrow, the same species as the Spanish Sparrow, the same species as the House Sparrow and as a separate species. The Spanish Sparrow also hybridises freely with the House Sparrow in parts of north Africa (north east Algeria, Tunisia and north west Libya), forming highly variable mixed populations with a full range of characters from pure House Sparrow to pure Spanish Sparrow.
The Spanish Sparrow has a highly complex distribution in the Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and south west to central Asia. It breeds mostly in a band of latitude about 15 degrees wide from the Danube valley and the Aral Sea in the north to Libya and central Iran in the south. Its range has expanded greatly by natural colonisation over the last 2 centuries. Vagrants occur widely as far north as Scotland and Norway.
Two sub-species of Spanish Sparrow are usually recognised: the western sub-species hispaniolensis and the eastern sub-species transcaspicus. The western sub-species hispaniolensis breeds in parts of Iberia and north Africa, some islands and the Balkans whilst the eastern sub-species transcaspicus breeds from Anatolia and Cyprus through the Middle East and central Asia to far west China.
In most of its range, the Spanish Sparrow can be found alongside the House Sparrow. In such areas, both species breed in farmland and open woodland with the Spanish Sparrow preferring moister habitats. In areas where the House Sparrow is absent, the Spanish Sparrow may live in urban habitats.
The Spanish Sparrow is strongly gregarious and nests in large colonies of closely spaced or even multiple shared nests. Nests are usually placed in trees or bushes either amongst branches or underneath the nests of larger birds such as the White Stork. Colonies may hold from 10 pairs to hundreds of thousands of pairs. Each pair lays 3 to 8 eggs which hatch after 12 days with the chicks fledging when about 14 days old.
Like other sparrows, the Spanish Sparrow feeds principally on the seeds of grains and other grasses but it also eats leaves, fruits and other plant materials. Young birds are fed mostly on insects and adults also feed on insects and other animals during and before the breeding season.
Date: 21st May 2018
Location: near Dimcevo, Burgas Province, Bulgaria
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Also in: Bulgaria
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