Italian Sparrow – Italy national bird
Italy is a country of Europe. The national bird of Italy is Italian Sparrow. The scientific name of Italian Sparrow is Passer italiae. It is also known as Eurasian Tree Sparrow. It belongs to the passerine family of birds.
The national bird of Italy is the “Italian sparrow”. The Italian sparrow has a mix of brown, black and grey colors. It has a slim body with a long beak. Its beak is about 1.4 to 1.8 inches (3 to 4 centimeters) long.
The Italian Sparrow can be found in Italy and Albania. It prefers to live in towns, cities, agricultural areas and grasslands.
Habitats
The Italian Sparrow is omnivore (it eats both plants and meat). It mostly feeds on seeds, but it also eats some insects.
The Italian Sparrow builds its nest in holes in buildings or cliffs. During breeding season female lays 3-5 eggs. Both parents take care of their young.
Classification of Italian Sparrow
- Species: P. italiae
- Genus: Passer
- Family: Passeridae
- Order: Passeriformes
Facts about Italian Sparrow – Italy national bird
- Italian Sparrow is the official and famous bird of Italy
- Italian sparrows are the fifth most common bird in Italy
- The estimated size of Italian sparrow is 14–16 centimetres
- They eat seeds and insects.
- They live at average of 4 years
The Italian Sparrow (Passer italiae) is a sparrow found in Italy. Like other European sparrows, it was formerly considered a subspecies of the house sparrow. It is sometimes considered a subspecies of the Spanish Sparrow, P. hispaniolensis.
The national bird Italian Sparrow is found in Italy and France, along with the Balearic Islands, Corsica and Sicily.
Within its range, it inhabits open cultivated country with hedgerows and isolated trees, vineyards near towns and villages and parks and gardens in town centres. The species is resident but there is some local movement to lower altitudes in winter.
The Italian Sparrow breeds from sea level up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in mountains.
Why is Italian Sparrow the national bird of Italy?
The Italian sparrow is the national bird of Italy. After a long and rigorous selection process, it was declared as the official bird of Italy in 1982. The Italian sparrow has been named as such as its song resembles the Italian song “Cucù”.
The Italian sparrow has been chosen to be the bird for Italy with a close reason being that these little cuties are relatively easy to spot in every corner of Italy. They are also bird that symbolizes freedom according to the Spanish legend of La Gitana. Another much-beloved quality of the Italian sparrow is their naturally chirpy call, their celebratory dance and their singing of songs known as ‘melody’ in English. These unique qualities have now made the Italian sparrow one of Italy’s national symbols to be cherished forever.