Tree Sparrow

Tree Sparrow

Passer montanus
Tree Sparrow, Adam Jones

Introduction

Slightly smaller that the much commoner House Sparrow, the Tree Sparrow's chestnut crown and black spot in the white cheek make it easy to identify.

Very much a bird of farmland edge, the UK Tree Sparrow population declined dramatically in the 1980s. Recent data, however, show small signs of recovery, although this species remains on the the UK Red List, where it has been found since 1996.

Tree Sparrows are found primarily in eastern and lowland areas of Britain & Ireland. East Yorkshire is a stronghold for British Tree Sparrows, and they can be locally common during the April to August breeding season. Outside of this time Tree Sparrows can move quite some distance with some breeding areas being vacated altogether. Some of the East Yorkshire birds have been reported during the winter months in Suffolk, heading back north as winter turns to spring. Where breeding, Tree Sparrows can be found in small, loose colonies.

  • Our Trends Explorer gives you the latest insight into how this species' population is changing.
Tree Sparrow, Adam Jones

Key Stats

Status
Common
Common
Eggs
Eggs
5-6
BTO Records
BTO Records
700k records
Population and distribution stats for:
Population Change
Population Change
62% increase 1995–2022
Population Size
Population Size
245k Territories
Distribution Change
Distribution_change
-37.3% contraction
Population Size
Population Size
No current data
Distribution Change
Distribution_change
-17.5% contraction

Identification

Curated resources to aid in the identification of Tree Sparrow

ID Videos

This section features BTO training videos headlining this species, or featuring it as a potential confusion species.

Sparrows

Songs and Calls

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Tree Sparrow, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Call:

Movement

Information about Tree Sparrow movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

Dots show the foreign destinations of birds ringed in Britain & Ireland, and the origins of birds ringed overseas that were subsequently recaptured, resighted or found dead in Britain & Ireland. Dot colours indicate the time of year that the species was present at the location.

  • Winter (Nov-Feb)
  • Spring (Mar-Apr)
  • Summer (May-Jul)
  • Autumn (Aug-Oct)
Foreign locations of birds ringed or recovered in Britain & Ireland

European movements

EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

The Eurasian-African Migration Atlas shows movements of individual birds ringed or recovered in Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Tree Sparrow, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Productivity and Nesting

Nesting timing

Average (range) fo first clutch laying dates
17 May (23 Apr-16 Jul)
Typical (exceptional) number of broods
1–2

Egg measurements

Typical length x width
20x14 mm
Mass (% shell)
2.1g (7%)

Clutch Size

Typical number
6-5 eggs
Average ±1 standard deviation
5.05±0.92 eggs
Observed minimum and maximum
2-9 eggs

Incubation

Incubation by
Male + Female
Typical duration
13-12 days
Observed average ±1 standard deviation
12.8±1.19 days
Observed minimum and maximum
11-15 days

Fledging

Type of chick
Altricial, naked
Typical duration
17.5-15 days
Observed average ±1 standard deviation
15.94±1.75 days
Minimum and maximum
12.5-18 days
N=3534, Source
Visit our Trends Explorer for trend graphs and country statistics.

Survival and Longevity

Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

View number ringed each year in the Online Ringing Report.

lifespan

Typical life expectancy of bird reaching breeding age
2 years with breeding typically at 1 year
Maximum age from a ringed bird
10 years, 10 months, 20 days (set in 1996)

Survival of adults

All adults
0.433±0.067
Visit our Trends Explorer for trend graphs and country statistics.

Biometrics

Wing length and body weights are from live birds (source).

Wing length

Average ±1 std deviation; range and sample size in brackets.
Juvenile
66.3±2.2 mm
(63-70 mm, N=226)
All adults
69.6±2 mm
(67-73 mm, N=5335)
Female
68.4±1.9 mm
(66-72 mm, N=267)
Male
70.4±1.7 mm
(67-73 mm, N=169)

Body weight

Average ±1 std deviation; range and sample size in brackets.
Juvenile
66.3±2.2 mm
(63-70 mm, N=226)
All adults
69.6±2 mm
(67-73 mm, N=5335)
Female
68.4±1.9 mm
(66-72 mm, N=267)
Male
70.4±1.7 mm
(67-73 mm, N=169)
Visit our Trends Explorer for trend graphs and country statistics.

Ring Size

A (pulli B)

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Tree Sparrow

Classification and Codes

  • Order: Passeriformes
  • Family: Passeridae
  • Scientific name: Passer montanus
  • Authority: Linnaeus, 1758
  • BTO 2-letter code: TS
  • BTO 5-letter code: TRESP
  • Euring code number: 15980

Alternate species names

  • Catalan: pardal xarrec
  • Czech: vrabec polní
  • Danish: Skovspurv
  • Dutch: Ringmus
  • Estonian: põldvarblane
  • Finnish: pikkuvarpunen
  • French: Moineau friquet
  • Gaelic: Gealbhonn-nan-craobh
  • German: Feldsperling
  • Hungarian: mezei veréb
  • Icelandic: Trjáspör
  • Irish: Gealbhan Crainn
  • Italian: Passera mattugia
  • Latvian: lauku zvirbulis
  • Lithuanian: eurazinis karklažvirblis
  • Norwegian: Pilfink
  • Polish: mazurek
  • Portuguese: pardal-montês
  • Slovak: vrabec polný
  • Slovenian: poljski vrabec
  • Spanish: Gorrión molinero
  • Swedish: pilfink
  • Welsh: Golfan Mynydd

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Tree Sparrow from BTO scientists.

Causes of Change and Solutions

Causes of change

The mechanisms underlying the decline in this species are largely unknown, although demographic trends suggest that factors operating during the breeding season are not the main driver.

Further information on causes of change

The number of fledglings per breeding attempt has improved substantially as population sizes have decreased (see above), suggesting that decreases in productivity were not responsible for the decline. This has been driven by declines in daily failure rate at both the nest and chick stages and increases in clutch and brood sizes. It is thus more likely that survival has been the critical demographic measure, although ring-recovery analyses have produced equivocal results, perhaps because of small sample sizes (Siriwardena et al. 1998, 2000b).

Components of agricultural intensification, such as reductions in winter stubble, have been implicated in the decline, although direct evidence supporting such ideas is largely incidental. Tree Sparrows aggregate in areas where seed food is available during the winter and they have declined at the same time as other farmland seed-eaters (Siriwardena et al. 1998), providing circumstantial evidence for shortage of food. In winter in Scotland (Hancock & Wilson 2003), the highest densities of Tree Sparrows were recorded in cereal stubble fields (undersown with grass) and weedy brassica fodder crops. These habitats remain relatively seed-rich but have declined in area in the UK (Fuller 2000, Hancock & Wilson 2003). Field & Anderson (2004) also state that anecdotal evidence suggests that many Tree Sparrow colonies are strongly associated with winter seed food sources, and provision of new seed sources is frequently associated with the establishment of new breeding colonies. Although Siriwardena et al. (2007) did not find a significant positive relationship between winter food supply and breeding population trajectory in areas provisioned by RSPB Bird Aid, this may be due to the fact that the BBS trends for this species are increasing; therefore winter food may not currently be limiting, as the remaining populations are in small remnants of suitable habitat and many are subject to active conservation action (e.g. provision of nest boxes). In Northern Ireland, Colhoun et al. (2017) observed an increase in abundance over five years on farms participating in agri-environment schemes, but found no direct positive association with the provision of seed rich habitat or any other specific management options.

During the breeding season, Field & Anderson (2004) found that wetland-edge habitats played a key role in providing invertebrate prey to allow successful chick rearing throughout the long breeding season and suggest that it is possible that large areas of UK farmland that were formerly occupied no longer provide these invertebrate resources, due to the effects of intensification in the late 20th century. In a study in Wiltshire, McHugh et al. (2016a) examined faecal sacs from nestlings and found a higher proportion of seed in their diet in areas with wild bird seed cover planted to provide seed resources in winter. They surmised that this indicated a shortage of insects, which are a more suitable nestling food. In this study, colony size increased but breeding success decreased in areas with wild bird seed cover (McHugh et al. 2017)

Information about conservation actions

The main drivers of change for the Tree Sparrow are uncertain, but it is believed most likely that declines have been caused by changes in survival. Therefore actions and agri-environment policies to increase seed food availability over winter could potentially benefit this species. However, Siriwadena et al. (2007) did not find a significant positive relationship between winter food supply and trends in a UK-wide study, possibly indicating that winter food may not currently be limiting as the remaining populations are in small remnants of suitable habitat and many are already subject to active conservation action (e.g. provision of nest boxes).

Providing overwinter food using wild bird seed cover may also have unintended negative impacts on breeding performance, with nestlings being fed on larger quantities of seed and experiencing reduced fledging success (McHugh et al. 2016a, 2017). This is likely to reflect a shortage of invertebrates and therefore actions to address this shortage may be at least as important in some areas as providing overwinter food. These actions could include using existing agri-environment options to provide habitats which support key invertebrate prey items used by Tree Sparrows during the breeding season (Field et al. 2010). Wetland-edges are a key habitat which help provide invertebrates and hence may help improve Tree Sparrow productivity (Field & Anderson 2004).

Further actions which encourage Tree Sparrows to return to sites from which they have been lost due to agricultural intensification are also likely to be required in order to enable a full recovery to take place. As well as providing nest boxes at sites close to existing populations (e.g. von Post et al. 2015), local conservation actions and agri-environment options will be needed to ensure that invertebrate prey are available at these sites during the breeding season and that seeds are available over winter.

Publications (3)

Drivers of the changing abundance of European birds at two spatial scales

Author: Gregory, R.D., Eaton, M.A., Burfield, I.J., Grice, P.V., Howard, C., Klvaňová, A., Noble, D., Šilarová, E., Staneva, A., Stephens, P.A., Willis, S.G., Woodward, I.D. & Burns, F.

Published: 2023

Understanding how human activities drive biodiversity change at different spatial scales is a key question for conservation practitioners and decision-makers. While we have a good understanding of the primary causes of observed biodiversity declines – which include land-use change, climate change, pollution, and the over-exploitation of species – we still struggle to measure and detect biodiversity change in robust and meaningful ways.

29.05.23

Papers

View on journal website

Birds of Conservation Concern Wales 4: the population status of birds in Wales

Author: Johnstone, I.G., Hughes, J., Balmer, D.E., Brenchley, A., Facey, R.J., Lindley, P.J., Noble, D.G. & Taylor, R.C.

Published: 2022

The latest review of the conservation status of birds in Wales. The report assessed all 220 bird species which regularly occur in Wales. There are now 60 species of bird on the Red List, with 91 on the Amber List and just 69 - less than a third of the total number of species - on the Green List.

06.12.22

Reports Birds of Conservation Concern

View a summary report

The State of the UK's Birds 2020

Author: Burns, F., Eaton, M.A., Balmer, D.E., Banks, A., Caldow, R., Donelan, J.L., Douse, A., Duigan, C., Foster, S., Frost, T., Grice, P.V., Hall, C., Hanmer, H.J., Harris, S.J., Johnstone, I., Lindley, P., McCulloch, N., Noble, D.G., Risely, K., Robinson, R.A. & Wotton, S.

Published: 2020

The State of UK’s Birds reports have provided an periodic overview of the status of the UK’s breeding and non-breeding bird species in the UK and its Overseas Territories since 1999. This year’s report highlights the continuing poor fortunes of the UK’s woodland birds, and the huge efforts of BTO volunteers who collect data.

17.12.20

Reports State of Birds in the UK

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