Photo: Joy Snydal Manikel
 Breeding evidence |
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Click on plot to view table of mean abundance
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Number of squares
Long-term BBS trends
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Mean abundance (number of birds detected per 5 min. point count) and percentage of squares occupied by region Bird Conservation Regions [abund. plot]
[%squares plot]
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Characteristics and Range The Eurasian Tree Sparrow resembles a male House Sparrow, but has a whiter cheek, with a prominent blackish spot, the white extending into a collar on the bird's nape, and a rich brown crown. Unlike the House Sparrow, there is no sex difference in plumage. Native to much of Eurasia, and introduced into North America near St. Louis, Missouri in 1870, it has spread into Illinois and southeast Iowa as a breeder and year-round resident (Barlow et al. 2017). Three individual Eurasian Tree Sparrows, confirmed by photos, were found in Manitoba in 1986, 2013, and 2014. The first and third remained for several years after their discovery, both eventually producing hybrid offspring with House Sparrows, but there is no evidence of any breeding during the atlas period.
Distribution, Abundance, and Habitat The sole atlas record of Eurasian Tree Sparrow was one discovered by Garry Budyk in a throng of House Sparrows in north Winnipeg on 14 December, 2014, the final year of the atlas, but well after the breeding season. As Winnipeg is far from the species' normal breeding range this was not considered as possible breeding evidence. This bird has remained in the area (until at least March, 2018), and at least two hybrid Eurasian Tree Sparrow X House Sparrows, presumably its offspring, were subsequently observed. Eurasian Tree Sparrows are similar to House Sparrows in habitat requirements, associated with human activity and nesting cavities. Where both are present, Eurasian Tree Sparrows tend to predominate in parks and woodlots away from buildings, whereas House Sparrows frequent buildings in heavily agricultural and dense urban areas (Barlow et al. 2017). In Manitoba, not surprisingly, all Eurasian Tree Sparrow sightings have been alongside House Sparrows.
Trends, Conservation, and Recommendations The Eurasian Tree Sparrow expanded from its initial release point, primarily along the wooded valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, but then stalled in the early 20th century (Barlow et al. 2017). In recent years, however, numbers have increased in the core range, as documented by the BBS and CBC and, especially since the 1980s, there has been an increasing number of extralimital records (Barlow et al. 2017). Hybridization of pioneer birds with House Sparrows may be a barrier to establishment of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow in Manitoba and elsewhere.