House Sparrow - Passer domesticus
Exotic Species (not native to Montana)
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
SNA
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
FWP Conservation Tier:
4
PIF:
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Copyright by Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, all rights reserved.
General Description
Stout and stocky with short legs and a thick bill. Back brown with black streaking, male with gray crown, chestnut bordering crown and on nape; cheek white, black bib. Female with gray-brown crown and postocular line, pale buff supercilium, unmarked throat and breast. Tail is 3/4 of the length of the wing (Lowther and Cink 1992).
General Distribution
Summary of Observations Submitted for Montana
Number of Observations: 2408
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Relative Density
Recency
Breeding
(direct evidence "B")
Breeding
(indirect evidence "b")
No evidence of Breeding
(transient "t")
Overwintering
(regular observations "W")
Overwintering
(at least one obs. "w")
(Records associated with a range of dates are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Breeding habitat is mostly associated with human modified environments such as farms, and residential and urban areas. Absent from extensive woodlands, forests, grasslands, and deserts. During postbreeding flocking, birds move into areas farther from breeding areas (e.g. grain fields rather than farmsteads). Winter habitat is the same as breeding habitat (Lowther and Cink 1992).
Food Habits
Have been known to eat livestock feed. Grains, weed seeds, relatively few insects. Urban birds eat commercial birdseed (Lowther and Cink 1992).
Ecology
This species did not occupy all of Montana until sometime between 1898 and 1908.
Reproductive Characteristics
Nest often in enclosed spaces. If they nest in trees the nest usually is a globular structure with a side entrance and may share a wall with a neighboring nest. Successful birds may have up to 4 clutches per season. Clutch size varies from 1 to 8 eggs (Lowther and Cink 1992). Young have been reported in the nest on July 4 in Gallatin County. Nesting typically begins in early April and may last to mid-September.
References
- Additional ReferencesLegend:
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American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American birds. 7th edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. 829 pp.- Davis, C.V. 1961. A distributional study of the birds of Montana. Ph.D. dissertation. Oregon State University, Corvallis. 462 pp.
- Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder’s Handbook, A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
- Farrand, J. 1983. Audubon Society Master Guide to Birding, No. 2 Gulls to Dippers. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. New York. New York, pp 176-178.
- Johnsgard, P. A. 1986. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the Northern Rocky Mountain region. Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder. xi + 504 pp.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution, 6th Edition. Montana Audubon: Helena, MT, 144 pp.
- Martin, T.E. 1980. Diversity and abundance of spring migratory birds using habitat islands on the Great Plains. Condor 82: 430-439.
- Stewart, R.E. 1975. Breeding birds of North Dakota. Tri-College Center for Environmental Studies, Fargo, North Dakota. 295 pp.
- U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
- Western Technology and Engineering, Inc. (WESTECH)., 2001, Wildlife Monitoring Absaloka Mine Area Annual Report, 2000. Montana SMP 85005. OSMP Montana 0007E. February 2001.
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