“…In contrast, local contact between the Italian sparrow and its second parent is limited to a small introduced population of Spanish sparrows on Gargano Peninsula, where gene flow between the two taxa is restricted by strong ecological segregation and divergence of behavioral traits (Sætre et al, ). Previous field studies and genomic analyses show a scenario with a clear‐cut zoogeographic pattern of sympatry and parapatry of the two parental species and the Italian hybrid on the Eurasian continent that was shaped by complex interaction of (a) parental genetic incompatibilities (Elgvin et al, ; Eroukhmanoff et al, ; Hermansen et al, ; Trier, Hermansen, Sætre, & Bailey, ); (b) sexual selection on phenotypic traits (Bailey, Tesaker, Trier, & Sætre, ; Runemark, Fernández, Eroukhmanoff, & Sætre, ); and (c) selection on functional traits associated with ecological preferences (such as beak size and shape; Eroukhmanoff, Hermansen, Bailey, Sæther, & Sætre, ).…”