Spanish Sparrows are found in trees and scrub in cultivated areas, mostly near water but also more arid habitats, normally in lowlands (Summers-Smith 2020). They occur from the Mediterranean basin (S Europe, N Africa, Levant, Asia Minor) E to C Asia (NW China) (Keller et al. 2020) and are an intra-European/Mediterranean migrant, with populations being variously nomadic, resident (SW Europe, Sardinia, N Africa) or migratory (most of the Balkan Peninsula). European migratory populations overwinter largely in N Africa (Summers-Smith 2020).