House sparrow

Scientific name: Passer domesticus

How weight is recorded: Whole weight

Field notes

Appearance

Males display a grey crown, black bib, and chestnut nape; females are duller with buff-grey plumage and lack the black bib. Both sexes are compact, stocky finches with a robust conical bill and dull pale legs.

Size and weight

Males 25–30 g, females 24–27 g; body length 14–18 cm.

Habitat

House sparrows inhabit human-modified landscapes including towns, cities, farmsteads, and villages with buildings for shelter and nesting. They favour areas with nearby grain sources, seed-bearing plants, or open ground for foraging, typically at low to moderate altitudes.

Distribution

Cosmopolitan across temperate and subtropical regions worldwide, having colonized most human settlements; populations are densest in cultivated lowlands and towns, sparse in forests and treeless plains.

Diet

House sparrows consume seeds from grasses and weeds in winter, supplemented with insects (especially aphids and caterpillars) during breeding season; they also scavenge human food scraps and grain around settlements.

Behaviour

Highly social and diurnal, forming flocks year-round that roost communally in sheltered structures; they are vocal, active ground foragers that move in loose groups between feeding and roosting sites with rapid, bouncing flight.

Hunting tips

Look for evidence of activity around buildings, grain stores, and seed heads: droppings clustered near roosting ledges and scratched earth beneath feeding areas. Approach deliberately during low-light periods when flocks are more concentrated at roosts or dawn feeding sites. Use cover near buildings and wait for flocks to return to established flight paths between roosting and feeding grounds.

Whole weight

This species is logged by whole weight — the animal weighed entire, as taken.

Where it is hunted

Listed as huntable in 2 countries in Huntify.

Names in other languages

These field notes are general species knowledge, not legal advice. Always check the current seasons, quotas and firearm rules where you hunt.