Sparrow Facts
The house sparrow is a small songbird in the family Passeridae, about 16 cm long, that lives close to people and is the most widespread wild bird.
- Class
- Bird
About the sparrow
Originally from Europe, much of Asia and the lands around the Mediterranean, the house sparrow has been carried to the Americas, Africa and parts of Australasia. It sticks near towns and farms and generally avoids big forests, open grasslands, polar areas and remote deserts. It weighs 24 to 39.5 g and has a full chest, a round head and a thick, cone-shaped bill made for cracking seeds.
Males carry bold black, white and brown markings, while females and juveniles are a plainer brown and gray. Seeds from grains, weeds and flowering plants are its natural food, but it also visits backyard feeders and snaps up insects, larvae and caterpillars. Farmers have long treated it as a pest, mostly without success, and people have also kept it as a pet.
Did you know?
- The genus Passer holds 28 species, and this is the best traveled of them.
- A house sparrow's wingspan runs from 19 to 25 cm.
- Despite huge numbers worldwide, house sparrows have declined in some places.
Questions about the sparrow
Where do house sparrows live?
Nearly everywhere people do, in cities and countryside on most continents, though they avoid large woodlands and deserts far from towns.
Are house sparrows endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List rates the species as least concern.
Sources
- Wikidata Q14683, checked October 8, 2026
- Wikipedia: House sparrow, checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.