House Sparrow
(Passer domesticus)

Overview

Summary

© Dan Busby
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

Most common among human-modified surroundings, this introduced species is abundant in appropriate habitats and widespread across Canada. Populations are well monitored by the Breeding Bird Survey, which indicates a large decrease since 1970. The declines are worldwide, and are likely related to changes in farming practices and transportation (Lowther and Cink 2006).

Designations

Population status

Population estimate

Distribution maps

• NatureServe
• Breeding Bird Survey (BBS): Relative Abundance and Breeding Distribution (1993-2012)

Migration strategy, occurrence

Responsibility for conservation of world population

Conservation and management

Even though House Sparrow populations are decreasing, there is no conservation concern for this introduced and still abundant species, which sometimes competes with native species in Canada. The population decreases are occurring throughout its range around the globe, and are thought to be the result of farming practices moving toward monoculture and intensively-managed crops and, earlier, to the advent of the internal combustion engine that replaced horses for transportation (Lowther and Cink 2006).

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

• conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
• stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
• management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
• other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

References

• Lowther, P.E. and C.L. Cink. 2006. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Lowther, P.E. and C.L. Cink. 2006. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. (Link)