Spanish Sparrow

Spanish Sparrow

Passer hispaniolensis

Silhouette: Andrew Butko (modified) · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Fez

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%

6 Verified sightings at Fez
1,650 In all 4 parks From 2019 to 2026
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Spanish Sparrow

The Spanish sparrow or willow sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is found in the Mediterranean region and south-west and central Asia. It is very similar to the closely related house sparrow, and the two species show their close relation in a "biological mix-up" of hybridisation in the Mediterranean region, which complicates the taxonomy of this species.

The Spanish sparrow is a rather large sparrow, at 15–16 cm (6–6.5 in) in length, and 22–36 g (0.78–1.27 oz) in weight. It is slightly larger and heavier than house sparrows, and also has a slightly longer and stouter bill. The male is similar to the house sparrow in plumage, but differs in that its underparts are heavily streaked with black, has a chestnut rather than grey crown, and has white rather than grey cheeks. The female is effectively inseparable from the house sparrow in its basic plumage, which is grey-brown overall but more boldly marked. The female has light streaking on its sides, a pale cream supercilium, and broad cream streaks on its back.

Two subspecies of the Spanish sparrow – the western Spanish sparrow (P. h. hispaniolensis) and eastern Spanish... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Song0:29

Croatia · 2026

© Branislav Oblučar · XC1147264 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:08

Cyprus · 2024

© David Tattersley · XC891558 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Begging call0:27

Kazakhstan · 2023

© Ding Li Yong · XC815265 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Monfragüe National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~20%
2 Doñana National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
~10%
3 Sierra Nevada National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%
4 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park 🇪🇸 Spain
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Tunis 🇹🇳 Tunisia
~80%
2 Sincan 🇹🇷 Turkey
~30%
3 Marrakesh 🇲🇦 Morocco
~20%
4 Algiers 🇩🇿 Algeria
~10%
5 Riyadh 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia
~10%
6 Kuwait City 🇰🇼 Kuwait
~10%
7 Tel Aviv 🇮🇱 Israel
~10%
8 Mashhad 🇮🇷 Iran
~10%
9 Cairo 🇪🇬 Egypt
~10%
10 Rabat 🇲🇦 Morocco
~10%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Spanish Sparrow in Fez?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Spanish Sparrow sighting in Fez on a given day, based on 6 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 35th most-seen of the 39 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Spanish Sparrow in Fez?

July

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Spanish Sparrow in Fez on a given day, against under 5% in February–March, May, September–October and December, the lowest months. That is one of Fez's driest months, with almost no rain against 120 mm in November. August has too few records to rate.

What time of day is best to see a Spanish Sparrow?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Spanish Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Fez the best place to see a Spanish Sparrow?

11th of 19

Of the 19 cities where we can rate Spanish Sparrow sightings, Fez ranks 11th at about 10%. The best odds are in Tunis (Tunisia, about 80%), Sincan (Turkey, about 30%) and Marrakesh (Morocco, about 20%).

Where does the Spanish Sparrow sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Spanish Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Fez (6 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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