clouded magpie vs House Sparrow

Abraxas sylvata compared with Passer domesticus

Key Differences

• clouded magpie is Vulnerable while House Sparrow is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	clouded magpie	House Sparrow
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family	Geometridae	Passeridae
Genus	Abraxas	Passer
Species	Abraxas sylvata	Passer domesticus

Evolutionary Relationship

clouded magpie and House Sparrow share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

clouded magpie

VU — Vulnerable

House Sparrow

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	clouded magpie	House Sparrow
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

clouded magpie

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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).

clouded magpie

The clouded magpie (Abraxas sylvata) is a geometrid moth in the family Geometridae found across temperate Europe, extending eastward through Russia to Japan. The adult wingspan measures approximately 32–42 mm, with white wings bearing a distinctive pattern of yellow-orange and dark grey to black spots and patches arranged in rows across the forewing and hindwing, creating a striking patterned appearance resembling the magpie coloring of the related magpie moth Abraxas grossulariata, but with a more yellowish, muted tone and less black — hence 'clouded.' Adults fly in one generation from June to July, resting on leaf surfaces and attending woodland flowers for nectar. The larvae feed on wych elm (Ulmus glabra) and occasionally other Ulmus species in mature deciduous woodland and woodland edges. The clouded magpie has become less common in parts of its European range due to the widespread loss of mature elms from Dutch elm disease, which devastated European elm populations from the 1970s onward. Conservation of this species requires the protection of surviving mature elm trees and management of regrowth elms in woodland ecosystems.

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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden