![]() The flurry of reports from Michigan beginning in 2005 and mostly in the Upper Peninsula coincides with a surge of reports of other European birds in this region. Since then, there have been around 30 or more Michigan reports, including those of multiple birds. At some point, reports begin to get archived, and Michigan's first "official" record of Eurasian Tree Sparrow occurred in Cass Co. Good data on early records of introduced species can be difficult to dig up because these species are dismissed as "uncountable" by birders, and it's the birding community that usually documents these occurances. In the 1990s, multiple reports came from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, and Ontario. A more rapid expansion began in the 1960s, with birds showing up in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. By the 1940s, the colonization extended only about 80 miles from their original point of establishment, mostly in a north and northwest direction. Twenty birds were imported from Germany and released there, and for decades did not expand much from this area. ![]() It is not native to North America, as the name indicates, but since 1870 a population has been established near St. Prior to the 1970s or so, a report of a Eurasian Tree Sparrow would be highly suspect. It was more fidgity than the other sparrows-quite nervous.Įurasian Tree Sparrow in Europe. The bird had a black patch on the ear covert as well as around the eye, a small black chin patch (smaller than the regular house sparrow), rich brown crown, faint white ring around the collar, was slimmer than the house sparrow and immediately left the feeder whenever the regular sparrows came in. There is no doubt in our mind that it is a a Eurasian Tree Sparrow after consulting Petersons Field Guide ( page 263), Golden Field Guide Birds of North America (page 279) and Audubon Master Guide to Birding Book 3 (page 351). The feeder is about 7 feet from our kitchen window so we had lots of good hard looks at it. Here is their original description, written the first day they saw this bird:Īt 8 AM this morning, my wife and I observed a different sort of sparrow for about 5 minutes off and on at our feeder. The observers were well known to me, and frequent participants in Christmas Bird Counts and breeding bird surveys in Michigan. The bird was seen over several days, but due to an email glitch I did not get the original report until about a week had passed. On 21 October 1999, a Eurasian Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus) was reported at a residential feeder in west Dearborn, about a block from Snow Woods near Snow Avenue and Rotunda. Currently, the species is scarce or absent in most of its former UK haunts, although there are a few populations that remain one in the Midlands, and several more in southern and eastern England.Įurasian tree sparrows are gregarious ground-feeding seed-eaters, although they also consume a variety of invertebrates, especially when breeding.NOTE: In anticipation of publishing a new Dearborn bird checklist, I am posting information on some of the city's more interesting sightings. In the UK, these birds have experienced a dramatic population decline - some might say a "population crash" - of 95% since 1970. Despite their huge geographic range, this species is in decline throughout the western parts of their range, possibly due to changes in farming practices. The Eurasian tree sparrow is a sedentary species found in open fields or lightly wooded habitats throughout most of Europe and Asia and as far south as Indonesia. The underparts are buffy and their feet and legs are pinkish. ![]() They have a black conical beak that turns a bluer hue in breeding season, and brownish yellow irides. They have rufous, black and white patterned upperparts, a chestnut-brown head and nape, a bold black spot on white cheeks, and a white collar. Unlike the sexually dichromatic house sparrow, adult male and female Eurasian tree sparrows look alike. Although DNA studies indicate the Eurasian tree sparrow is basal in the Passer lineage, having diverged from its congeners relatively early, it was originally not recognised as a separate species from the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, until 1713. Response: This is an adult Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus, a small passerine that is placed into Passeridae, the Old World sparrows, which are also known as the true sparrows. Where is that species found and what taxonomic family is it in? Can you identify this bird's taxonomic family and species? Question: This British mystery bird is known by a common name that is almost identical to that given to an unrelated species found elsewhere in the world. Here's a reminder of the original mystery bird photograph I gave you two days ago: Image: Roy Hill, 22 March 2012 (with permission, for GrrlScientist/Guardian use only). ![]()
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