The house sparrow is one of the UK’s most familiar birds, although sadly its numbers are declining. The tree sparrow is less common and has also seen a drastic decline in its population in the last few decades.
At first glance they may seem similar but when you know what to look for they are fairly easy to tell apart.
Tree sparrow
The main difference between the tree sparrow and the house sparrow is that the tree sparrow has a chestnut-brown head and nape. It has white cheeks with small black patches and the black bib extends only a short way below the bill. Both sexes look similar.
Male house sparrow
The male house sparrow has a grey crown and the black bib below the bill extends further down to the top of the breast. It lacks the black cheek patches.
Female house sparrrow
No black bib
1 of 3Duller overall
2 of 3Buffy-brown crown
3 of 3Female house sparrows look quite different from males. They are much browner overall and do not have the black bib and black around the eyes. The crown is buff-coloured and the bill is horn-coloured rather than black.
Female house sparrows can get confused with dunnocks, sometimes known as hedge sparrows. You can find out how to tell the difference between these two birds here.
