High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Italian Sparrow (Passer italiae) is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in Italy and other parts of the Mediterranean region. In appearance, it is intermediate between the House Sparrow, and the Spanish Sparrow, a species of the Mediterranean and Central Asia closely related to the House Sparrow. The Italian Sparrow occurs in northern Italy and neighbouring regions, with intermediates with the House Sparrow in a very narrow contact zone in the Alps, a slow gradation in appearance from the Italian to Spanish Sparrows across central and southern Italy, and more birds of intermediate appearance in Malta, Crete, and other parts of the Mediterranean. There has been much debate on the origins and taxonomic status of the Italian Sparrow, especially given its possible hybrid origin. Some have classified it as a subspecies of House Sparrow, a subspecies of the Spanish Sparrow, or as a distinct species, a treatment followed if...