Do you know how to tell the difference between a House Sparrow and a Tree Sparrow? They can be easily confused, so it’s important to know what to look for when you’re trying to tell them apart.
- Tree Sparrow have a solid chestnut cap, with a white collar and diagnostic black cheek patches
- Both male and female Tree Sparrow look identical
- Male House Sparrow look the most similar to Tree Sparrows, but they have a grey cap on top of their head, with chestnut only on the sides of their head. They also don’t have the black cheek patches
- House Sparrow females and juveniles look different to the males, and they are various shades of light brown all over. They don’t have any chestnut, black or white on their head, instead just having a plain brown cap.
- Tree Sparrow are slightly smaller than House Sparrow and appear less chunky
- House Sparrows are the more common of the two species and are often found in urban areas
- Tree Sparrows are less common and are primarily a farmland bird though they also do come into gardens, particularly in more rural areas
Photo credits Ellie Ness.
All sparrows in these photos are part of licensed bird ringing activities, carried out by fully trained BTO bird ringers and were handled as part of our research into tree sparrow declines.