Interesting facts about the Italian Sparrow

The Italian sparrow (Passer italiae), also known as the cisalpine sparrow, 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.

The Italian sparrow is known for its enormous strength, able to fly long distances laden with many times its own weight.  It has long been theorised that the annual migration of the Italian sparrow to England via Hawaii is responsible for the numerous coconuts discovered in England during the Middle Ages*.

 * this may need fact checking, the author is known to scrimp on research