House Sparrow
Passer domesticus

The house sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. It is a small bird that has a typical length of 16 cm (6.3 in) and a mass of 24–39.5 g (0.85–1.39 oz). Females and young birds are coloured pale brown and grey, and males have brighter black, white, and brown markings. One of 28 species in the genus Passer, the house sparrow is native to most of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, and a large part of Asia. Its intentional or accidental introductions to many regions, including parts of Australasia, Africa, and the Americas, make it the most widely distributed wild bird. Source
Where it is now
In the last 8 weeks this bird was recorded 15,962,546 times across 211 areas (each area is a 5 degree square).
See the House Sparrow on the live map
Movement and weather
Each season it is first heard regularly where daytime highs are around 15°C (typically 5 to 28°C, from 48 areas). That range is wide, so temperature alone does not explain when it turns up.
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 17 November 2025 | 21 September 2026 | 29 June 2026 | 15 |
| North America | 29 December 2025 | 5 October 2026 | 15 June 2026 | 15 |
| Oceania | 2 March 2026 | 31 August 2026 | 11 May 2026 | 7 |
| Africa | 29 December 2025 | 24 August 2026 | 18 May 2026 | 5 |
| Asia | 19 January 2026 | 15 June 2026 | 16 March 2026 | 4 |
| South America | 30 March 2026 | 1 June 2026 | 27 July 2026 | 2 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.