Tree sparrow

Description

The tree sparrow is up to 14 cm tall and weights 20 to 24 grams. The wing length is between 6.8 and 7.4 cm in males and between 6.6 and 7.1 cm in females. The male tail measures 4.8 to 5.8 cm, while the female tail measures between 5 and 5.6 cm. 

The tree sparrow is somewhat more cleanly marked than the house sparrow and is overall somewhat smaller and slimmer than the latter. The top of the head and the nape of the neck are brown, the throat bears a small black throat patch. The cheeks are white with a black spot in the ear area. The pale collar is almost closed at the nape. The top of the body is brownish with darker longitudinal stripes, which are particularly noticeable on the back and shoulders. The rump is yellowish brown, the belly and breast are brownish grey. The wings have two white bands.

Juveniles resemble adults but are more greyish brown on the top of the head. The upperpart is paler with longitudinal grey stripes, the cheek and throat patches are still sooty grey. They undergo a full moult about five to eight weeks after fledging and show their first adult plumage after an average of 77 days. The nestlings are initially naked. They have pink skin, and the throat and tongue are also pink. The beak bulges are pale yellow.

The habitat is sparsely wooded regions, forest edges, field margins, hedgerows, avenues, gardens and the fringes of settlements. In western Europe in particular, the tree sparrow is less of a synanthropic bird than the house sparrow. However, it is increasingly penetrating towns and villages and occupying the niche of the increasingly rare house sparrow.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feldsperling). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 20 October 2021