Petronia petronia

The Rock Sparrow is classified as Data Deficient (DD) as there is insufficient information to assess the threat category in Israel. In the previous edition of the Red Book (2002) it was classified as Least Concern (LC), and although it is relatively common today we have no knowledge of population trends.

Habitats	Rocky Terrain, Desert Cliffs, Mediterranean Cliffs
Presence In Israel	Resident
Breeding In Israel	Breeder
Migration Types	Resident, Nomad
Zoographical Zones	Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian
Landscape Types	Mountainous, Cliffs, Rugged Terrain
Vegetation Types	Steppe, Herbaceous
Vegetation Densities	Low
Nest Locations	Cliffs, Buildings
Diet Types	Herbivore
Foraging Grounds	Ground
Body Sizes	Small (up to 500g)
Threat Factors	Wildfires, Habitat loss and fragmentation, Aforestation, Tree planting

The Rock Sparrow is a relatively large sparrow species that inhabits rocky and stony habitats with sparse vegetation. Its plumage is a relatively uniform light brownish-grey. From up close, the head pattern includes a pale supercilium between the dark eye stripe and dark head streaking is visible. Wings are longer than the House Sparrow’s and its flight is very undulant. In flight, a series of white spots at the edge of the tail is revealed. Both sexes also have a yellow patch on their throat, which is sometimes hard to discern.

A relatively common resident species in suitable habitats, particularly east of the national watershed, e.g. mountains and cliffs such as Mt. Hermon, the Arbel Cliffs, eastern Judea and Samaria and south to Mt. Amasa, Arad and the Judean Desert Plateau.

• פז, ע. 1986. עופות. מתוך אלון, ע. (עורך), החי והצומח של ארץ ישראל. כרך 6. הוצאת משרד הביטחון, ישראל.

• Shirihai, H., 1996. The Birds of Israel. Academic Press, London.
• Symes, A. 2013. Species generation lengths. Unpublished, BirdLife International.
• Species page at Birdlife International