The British Trust for Ornithology
HOUSE SPARROW
Passer domesticus
Conservation listings

Unlisted/Green
Biodiversity Steering Group: Unlisted
Long-term trend
UK: Rapid decline over last 25 years
 
Status summary
The UK House Sparrow population was not monitored well by the CBC before the mid-1970s, especially as urban areas and gardens were largely excluded from CBC coverage. However, data collected under the CBC indicate a rapid decline in abundance over the last 25 years, which is very similar to that shown by the BTO's Garden Bird Feeding Survey (Glue 1994) and is supported by other data and many anecdotal reports that have generated a great deal of conservation concern. The decline is likely to have been driven by reductions in over-winter survival (Siriwardena et al. 1999) and has been linked to a range of changes in rural and urban habitats. Possible explanations for the decrease in House Sparrow abundance include reductions in the amount of grain spilt during agricultural operations, increases in cat predation and the use of toxic additives in unleaded petrol.
 
 
Table of population changes for House Sparrow
Source Period
(yrs)		 Years Plots
(n)		 Change
(%)		 Lower
limit		 Upper
limit		 Alert Comment
CBC all habitats 31 1968-1999 41 -34 -69 59    
  25 1974-1999 50 -46 -67 -20 >25  
  10 1989-1999 65 -18 -34 2    
  5 1994-1999 65 5 -10 20    
BBS UK 6 1994-2000 1221 -5 -9 -1    
BBS England 6 1994-2000 1027 -12 -15 -8    
BBS Scotland 6 1994-2000 72 27 3 56    
BBS Wales 6 1994-2000 85 64 34 99    
BBS N.Ireland 6 1994-2000 30 -20 -48 23   Small sample
The Breeding Bird Survey is jointly funded by BTO, JNCC and RSPB
 
 
Productivity information is not currently available for this species
 
The report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Crick, H.Q.P., Balmer, D.E., Bashford, R.I., Beaven, L.P., Freeman, S.N., Marchant, J.H., Noble, D.G., Raven, M.J., Siriwardena, G.M., Thewlis, R. and Wernham, C.V. (2001) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2000. BTO Research Report No. 252. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)




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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Crick, H.Q.P., Balmer, D.E., Beaven, L.P., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Leech, D.I., Marchant, J.H.,
Noble, D.G., Raven, M.J., Simpkin, A.P., Thewlis, R.M. and Wernham, C.V. (2002) Breeding Birds in the Wider
Countryside: their conservation status 2001. BTO Research Report No. 278. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

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