History of the colonization of the European sparrow (Passer domesticus) in the Americas and the first specimens for Colombia

Abstract

In the present century, two exotic bird species have invaded practically the entire American continent: the African egret (Bubulcus ibis) and the European sparrow (Passer domesticus). In both cases the success of their establishment in America has been facilitated by anthropogenic action. Deforestation and the increase of areas for extensive cattle ranching allowed the rapid territorial expansion of the cattle egret, which arrived at the beginning of the century in Guyana and is now distributed from Canada to Argentina (Lehmann, 1959, 1980; Dekeyzer, 1978). In the case of the European sparrow, the species was deliberately introduced to North and South America and its extraordinary adaptive success has been favored by the process of urbanization where it finds abundant food resources and biotopes for nesting.