Passer montanus
Silhouette: Laitche · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The tree sparrow (Passer montanus Latin pronunciation: [pas.ser mon.ta.nus]) is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes have similar plumage, and young birds are duller versions of the adult. This sparrow breeds across much of temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia and has been introduced elsewhere, including the United States, where it is known as the Eurasian tree sparrow or German sparrow to differentiate it from the native American tree sparrow. Although several subspecies are recognised, the appearance of this bird varies little across its extensive range.
The untidy nest of the tree sparrow is built in a natural cavity, a hole in a building, or the disused nest of a European magpie or white stork. The typical clutch is five or six eggs, which hatch in under two weeks. This sparrow mainly feeds on seeds, but also consumes invertebrates, particularly during the breeding season. As with other small birds, infection by parasites and diseases, as well as predation by birds of prey, take their toll, and the typical lifespan is about two years.
The tree sparrow is widespread in the towns and cities of eastern Asia, but in Europe, it inhabits lightly wooded open countryside, while the house sparrow breeds in more urban areas. The tree sparrow's extensive range and large population mean it is not globally endangered, although there have been significant population declines in Western Europe, partly due to changes in farming practices involving increased use of herbicides and the loss of winter stubble fields. In eastern Asia and western Australia, this species is sometimes considered a pest, though it is also widely celebrated in oriental art. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shijiazhuang | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 2 | Tianjin | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 3 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 4 | Ulaanbaatar | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | |
| 5 | Đà Nẵng | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 6 | Phnom Penh | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | |
| 7 | Tainan | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Surakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 9 | Qingdao | 🇨🇳 China | |
| 10 | Kuching | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 2 | Leofoo Village Theme Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 3 | Reptile House | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong SAR China | |
| 4 | Bangkok Aquarium | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Tree Sparrow sighting in Hangzhou on a given day, based on 763 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 219 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Eurasian Tree Sparrow in Hangzhou on a given day, against about 30% in December, the lowest month. That is one of Hangzhou's wettest months, with about 180 mm of rain against 65 mm in December.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eurasian Tree Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
83rd of 140
Of the 140 cities where we can rate Eurasian Tree Sparrow sightings, Hangzhou ranks 83rd at about 40%. The best odds are in Shijiazhuang (China, over 90%), Tianjin (China, about 90%) and Davao City (Philippines, about 90%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow that you can see in Hangzhou (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Light-vented Bulbul (about 80%), Chinese Blackbird (about 70%) and Oriental Magpie-Robin (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eurasian Tree Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Hangzhou (763 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.
