House Sparrow
House Sparrow
Adult male breeding
- Black bill, mask, throat, and breast
- Gray cap, rufous nape
- Back and wings reddish with black streaks
- White stripe on shoulder
- © Robert J. Baker, VA, Greene Co, March 2007
House Sparrow
Adult female
- Underparts grayish, upperparts brownish
- Back and wings brown with dark streaks
- Bill thick and yellowish
- © Kevin Bolton, NJ, Franklin Lake, November 2008
House Sparrow
Adult male nonbreeding
- Less black on throat and breast
- Gray cap, rufous nape
- Underparts gray
- Bill yellowish at base, darker towards tip
- © Sam Wilson, AZ, Phoenix, December 2008
House Sparrow
Adult female
- Brown face with indistinct eyestripe
- Bill thick and yellowish
- © Darin Ziegler, CO, Colorado Springs, November 2008
House Sparrow
Adult male nonbreeding
- Black throat and mask, black on breast diffuse
- Gray cap, rufous nape
- Underparts gray
- © Jim Paris, PA, Kutztown, January 2009
House Sparrow
Adults nonbreeding
House Sparrow
Adult male transitional
- Black mask, throat, and bib
- Amount of black intermediate between breeding and nonbreeding males
- © Donald Metzner, January 2009
Similar Species
Adult
- Similar to adult male breeding House Sparrow
- Black throat and upper breast
- Dark gray and white face pattern
- Unmarked brownish gray above, pale gray below
- © Gerry Dewaghe, Del Rio, TX, April 2007
Juveniles
- Similar to female House Sparrow
- Rufous crown and eyestripe
- Gray breast, buffy flanks
- Thin white wing-bars
- © Darin Ziegler, Colorado Springs, CO, October 2008
Adult tan-striped
- Similar to female House Sparrow
- Less stocky
- Gray bill
- Whitish throat contrasts with gray breast
- © Kevin Bolton, North Arlington, NJ, February 2009
Adult nonbreeding
- Similar to adult male House Sparrow
- Fairly plain brown or gray face
- Black forehead and throat
- Pink bill
- Some streaking on sides
- © France Dewaghe, Wilmington, DE, October 2008