House Sparrow Passer domesticus

Common breeding resident. Poorly documented on Foula.

The earliest documented record comes from the early 19^th century. Evans and Buckley (cited in Pennington et al. 2004) give breeding records for the island.

In the early 1960s Jackson (1966) estimated the population at about 25 pairs.

In the 1970s Furness (1983) estimated the population to be between 30 and 40 pairs.

Birds continue to breed on the island, although the species is poorly documented, and is often only recorded as present – which is rather demeaning to the species, which in some places has seen a drastic decline. If there are more personal records for this species, they would be most welcome. It is hoped that more accurate observations are made in the future of both breeding and passage for this species.