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The Eurasian Tree Sparrow
An introduced species that has stayed local rather than spread out
© Luiz Lapa
In Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen or so Eurasian Tree Sparrows from Germany were released. But unlike other introduced species such as the similar-looking House Sparrow, they did not spread very far and remained in a limited area in the Midwest. It’s not fully clear why, but it’s possible that they just behave differently. And the aggressive House Sparrow may have helped prevent the tree sparrows from spreading further by competing for the same nesting sites.
BirdNote®
The Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Written by Conor Gearin
This is BirdNote.
[House Sparrow flock, ML 211312851]
The House Sparrow, introduced to North America from Europe in the mid-1800s, has spread across the continent and can be seen grabbing French fries off the sidewalk from coast to coast. They often compete with native species for nesting sites.
In the 1870s, another European sparrow came to the U.S., but had a completely different fate.
[Eurasian Tree Sparrow song, ML 203979491]
In Lafayette Park in St. Louis, Missouri, a dozen or so Eurasian Tree Sparrows from Germany were released. Their descendants fanned out across the city and its suburbs. Eventually, some moved up the Mississippi River to Illinois and southeastern Iowa. But that’s about as far as they traveled.
[Eurasian Tree Sparrow calls, ML 438940621]
Unlike House Sparrows, Eurasian Tree Sparrows haven’t become invasive in North America. It’s not fully clear why, but it’s possible that they just behave differently. And the aggressive House Sparrow may have helped prevent the tree sparrows from spreading further by competing for the same nesting sites.
Eurasian Tree Sparrows still remain in a small area of the Midwest, where they’re not much of a nuisance to native birds and are a local curiosity for birders.
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Producer: Sam Johnson
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. House Sparrow ML211312851 recorded by Jay McGowan, Eurasian Tree Sparrow ML203979491 recorded by Jérôme Fischer, and Eurasian Tree Sparrow ML438940621 recorded by Bobby Wilcox.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2023 BirdNote September 2024
Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# ETSP-01-2024-09-25 ETSP-01
Reference:
https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/eurasian-tree-sparrow
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eurasian_Tree_Sparrow/overview
https://stlouisaudubon.org/bird-of-the-week-july-20/
Conor Gearin
Writer
Ariana Remmel
NarratorSights & Sounds
