Data Zone
Justification of Red List category
This species is listed a Vulnerable because it is undergoing a rapid decline. The causes of this decline are uncertain, and further work will be required to ascertain its drivers.
Population justification
The global breeding population is estimated to be approximately 4,200,000-6,900,000 mature individuals, which equates to 6,400,000-10,400,000 individuals in total (BirdLife International 2021).
Trend justification
The population size is estimated to have decreased by 24-38% with a best estimate of 31% over the past 10 years, and is expected to decline at the same rate between 2012-2022 and over the next ten years. These trends were calculated using the IUCN Criterion A tool, and based on national population figures (BirdLife International 2021). No trend information is available for Austria, Switzerland, France or Greece. It is estimated that the population has declined by 80% between 1980-2018.
This species is endemic to Europe, where it breeds almost entirely in Italy (91% of the total population), and also notably in France, with small populations also present in Crete (Greece), Switzerland, Slovenia and Austria.
This species can occur in a vast array of habitat from farmland and rural areas and the surrounding habitats as well as in urban areas (e.g., Belcher et al. 2018), though it prefers areas of cereal agriculture (Summers-Smith and Sharpe 2020).
The causes behind the species's decline are uncertain. The congeneric House Sparrow P. domesticus and Spanish Sparrow P. hispaniolensis have suffered declines as a result of changing agricultural practices, such as increased use of pesticides, which reduces the amount of available food (see BirdLife International 2015). However, urban populations may also be declining (Brichetti et al. 2008, Summers-Smith and Sharpe 2020), and so this is unlikely to be the sole cause of population declines in this species. The species is predated by cats (Mori et al. 2019).
Conservation Actions Underway
This species was removed from the list of huntable species in Italy in 1997 (M. Sorrenti in litt. 2017).
Conservation Actions Proposed
Conduct research to investigate the potential drivers of the decline in this species, and carry out targeted surveys to better assess population trends (C. Celada in litt. 2017). Attempt to reduce the use of pesticides that could be having harmful effects on food availability for this species, and bring this species in line with other conservation actions for farmland species.
Text account compilers
McGonigle, K.
Contributors
Butchart, S., Celada, C., Derhé, M., Ekstrom, J., Knaus, P., Sorrenti, M., Symes, A., Westrip, J.R.S. & de Carli, E.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Italian Sparrow Passer italiae. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/italian-sparrow-passer-italiae on 22/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/12/2024.