
Systematic list - part 13: Sparrows
Italian Sparrow Passer italiae (1000+)
Extremely common pretty much everywhere. Many sparrows in Sicily resemble Spanish Sparrow Passer hispaniolensis rather more closely than the textbook appearance of Italian Sparrow that occurs on the Italian mainland, but some look like Italian Sparrows are supposed to and many are intermediate. Although Italian Sparrow is believed to have become sufficiently stable to merit specific status despite its origin as a hybrid between Spanish Sparrow and House Sparrow, the birds on Sicily seem not to be less stable. Some birds would be very difficult to separate from a pure Spanish Sparrow on visual appearance - are any of them actually pure Spanish Sparrows?
Tree Sparrow Passer montanus (60+)
Small numbers in several areas, especially in the far SE of Sicily.
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Tree Sparrows, Portopalo di Capo Passero, 1st May (left) and Riserva Naturale Orientate Fiume Ciane, 23rd April (right) |
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Rock Sparrow Petronia petronia (4)
2 at Etna Sud on 26th April and 2 on the way up to Cava Grande del Cassibile on 5th May.
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Rock Sparrows, Etna South, 26th April |
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