House Sparrow Passer domesticus

The House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, is a small, sociable, and characterful bird belonging to the family Passeridae, and arguably the most familiar wild bird in Britain. Males are attractively marked with chestnut and grey plumage, a black bib, and a grey crown, while females are a more subdued streaked brown. A commensal species that has lived in close association with human habitation for millennia, it nests in gaps and cavities in buildings and forages for seeds, scraps, and invertebrates in its immediate surroundings. Despite this intimacy with people, the House Sparrow has undergone dramatic declines in Britain – particularly in urban and suburban areas – since the 1970s, and is a Red List species, with the loss of nesting sites, invertebrate food for chicks, and seed availability all implicated. Image: © Alexandr Lukyashko, iNaturalist.

Find out more: RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, iNaturalist