CreatureData

Italian sparrow

Passer italiae (Vieillot, 1817)

VUVulnerablesongbirds

The italian sparrow (Passer italiae) is a species in the family Passeridae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 27.3 g to 28.3 g and live up to 14.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Italian sparrow (Passer italiae)
Photo: Loz (L. B. Tettenborn) · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the italian sparrow

Weight
27.3 g – 28.3 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
14.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
23 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
11.8 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.7 – 5src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
2.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the italian sparrow live?

Not recorded

What is the italian sparrow?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Italian sparrow (Passer italiae), also known as the cisalpine sparrow, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean region. In appearance, it is intermediate between the house sparrow, and the Spanish sparrow, a species of the Mediterranean and Central Asia closely related to the house sparrow. The Italian sparrow occurs in northern Italy and neighbouring regions, with intermediates with the house sparrow in a very narrow contact zone in the Alps, a slow gradation in appearance from the Italian to Spanish sparrows across central and southern Italy, and more birds of intermediate appearance in Malta, Crete, and other parts of the Mediterranean.

There has been much debate on the origins and taxonomic status of the Italian sparrow, especially given its possible hybrid origin. Some have classified it as a subspecies of the house sparrow, a subspecies of the Spanish sparrow, or as a separate species, a treatment followed if only for convenience by authorities such as the Handbook of the Birds of the World. A DNA analysis by Glenn-Peter Sætre and colleagues published in 2011 indicated an origin of the Italian sparrow through hybridisation between the Spanish and house sparrows, and Sætre and colleagues argued that given its origins and the limited extent of hybridisation, the treatment as a distinct species was supported. The Italian sparrow is unofficially considered the national bird of Italy.

From the Wikipedia article “Italian sparrow” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italian_sparrow&oldid=1374879414), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the italian sparrow endangered?

The italian sparrow is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species. What the categories mean.

How is the italian sparrow classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPasseridae
  6. genusPasser
  7. SpeciesPasser italiae (Vieillot, 1817)

Synonyms Fringilla italiae, Passer domesticus italiae, Passer hispaniolensis italiae, Passer italiae italiae, Passer italiae schiebeli

Other names and names in other languages (49)
  • Cisalpine sparrowEnglish
  • ITSPEnglish
  • دوري إيطاليArabic
  • Италианско врабчеBulgarian
  • Golvan-ItaliaBreton
  • pardal italiàCatalan
  • PasserottuCorsican
  • vrabec italskýCzech
  • Golfan yr EidalWelsh
  • Italiensk SpurvDanish
  • ItaliensperlingGerman
  • Ιταλικό σπουργίτιGreek
  • Ιταλικός ΣπουργίτηςGreek
  • Itala paseroEsperanto
  • italia paseroEsperanto
  • gorrión morunoSpanish
  • Gorrión italianoSpanish
  • itaalia varblaneEstonian
  • Italiar txolarreBasque
  • گنجشک ایتالیاییPersian
  • italianvarpunenFinnish
  • Moineau cisalpinFrench
  • Gealbhan IodálachIrish
  • Sparroo IddaalaghScottish Gaelic
  • דרור איטלקיHebrew
  • talijanski vrabacCroatian
  • olasz verébHungarian
  • ÍtalaspörIcelandic
  • Passera d'ItaliaItalian
  • Passero italianoItalian
  • Passerotto italianoItalian
  • イタリアスズメJapanese
  • italinis žvirblisLithuanian
  • Итали боршувууMongolian
  • Italiaanse MusDutch
  • romerspurvNorwegian
  • wróbel apenińskiPolish
  • اطالوی چڑیWestern Panjabi
  • pardal-italianoPortuguese
  • Vrabie italianăRomanian
  • Итальянский воробейRussian
  • vrabec talianskySlovak
  • italijanski vrabecSlovenian
  • Italijanski vrabacSerbian
  • italiensk sparvSwedish
  • Italyan SerçesiTurkish
  • горобець італійськийUkrainian
  • 意大利麻雀Chinese
  • 義大利麻雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the italian sparrow

Other species in the same genus Passer.

CompareItalian sparrow vs House sparrowItalian sparrow vs Eurasian tree sparrowItalian sparrow vs Spanish sparrowItalian sparrow vs Sudan golden sparrow

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the italian sparrow?

An adult italian sparrow weighs 27.3 g – 28.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the italian sparrow endangered?

The italian sparrow is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

How long does the italian sparrow live?

The italian sparrow has a recorded lifespan of 14.5 years.

What kind of animal is the italian sparrow?

The italian sparrow (Passer italiae) belongs to the family Passeridae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Italian sparrow (Passer italiae). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/italian-sparrow

MLA

“Italian sparrow (Passer italiae).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/italian-sparrow.

BibTeX
@misc{italian_sparrow_2026,
  title = {Italian sparrow (Passer italiae)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/italian-sparrow},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}