Brown Rat vs House Sparrow

Rattus norvegicus compared with Passer domesticus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	House Sparrow
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Passeridae
Genus	Rattus	Passer
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Passer domesticus

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and House Sparrow share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

House Sparrow

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	House Sparrow
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Rat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (11 countries), Asia (15 countries), Europe (41 countries), North America (16 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (10 countries), and South America (10 countries).

House Sparrow

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (25 countries), Asia (4 countries), Europe (7 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu), and South America (8 countries).

Brown Rat

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

House Sparrow

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 33 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇸 Bahamas 🇧🇧 Barbados 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇩🇲 Dominica 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇪🇬 Egypt 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇦 Namibia 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇪 Peru 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇸🇨 Seychelles 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States 🇻🇺 Vanuatu 🇻🇪 Venezuela