Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) is a small sparrow with a rich chestnut crown, white cheeks each marked by a black spot and a compact black bib, with sexes alike. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It occupies farmland, villages and urban edges across temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia, feeding mainly on seeds and insects and nesting communally in tree holes, roofs and other cavities. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).