small tortoiseshell vs Spanish Sparrow

Aglais urticae compared with Passer hispaniolensis

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spanish Sparrow is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spanish Sparrow
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Passeridae
Genus	Aglais	Passer
Species	Aglais urticae	Passer hispaniolensis

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Spanish Sparrow share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spanish Sparrow

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spanish Sparrow
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Spanish Sparrow

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Spanish Sparrow

Spanish Sparrow (Passer hispaniolensis) is classified as Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List. Not yet evaluated against IUCN Red List criteria. Conservation status remains to be determined.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 6 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇦 Ukraine