Swainson's sparrow

Last updated

Swainson's sparrow
Swainson's sparrow (Passer swainsonii).jpg
Near Debre Libanos, Ethiopia
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Passeridae
Genus: Passer
Species:
P. swainsonii
Binomial name
Passer swainsonii
Rüppell, 1840

Swainson's sparrow (Passer swainsonii) is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. Sometimes considered a subspecies of the grey-headed sparrow, it occurs in northeastern Africa, largely in the Ethiopian Highlands. This sparrow was named after the English naturalist and illustrator William John Swainson. [2]

Contents

Description

The Swainson's sparrow reaches a body length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in). There is no conspicuous sexual dimorphism. [3]

It is often considered a race of grey-headed sparrow, but it tends to be darker, especially on the head and shoulders. There is a white bar on the shoulder, but this is not always visible. Similarly, the pale chestnut tail and rump is not always visible. [4]

Distribution and habitat

It occurs in the highlands of Ethiopia and Somalia, and in some of Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Kenya. [1] Apart from the far west, it is common throughout its range. Some populations show seasonal migrations. [3]

The habitats of the Swainson's sparrow are mountainous areas, marshes, open forest areas, savannas and shrubby grasslands. However, most often it occurs in human settlements and their surroundings. In Eritrea, it lives mostly on the open plateau at an altitude of 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) above sea level, and in Ethiopia it occurs in areas of 1,200–4,500 metres (3,900–14,800 ft) above sea level. [3]

In Ethiopian towns it is the common sparrow, similarly to the house sparrow in most of Eurasia. [4]

Behaviour

Swainson's sparrows eat mostly seeds of grasses and cereals, and insects. [3]

The nest is a loose ball assembled from grass and feathers. A nest may be built on branches, or in the crown of palm trees, or in tree hollows. The birds also use cavities in buildings, and the old nests of the Ethiopian swallow and African sand martin. They have been observed once removing nestlings of the African sand martin to take over their nests. A clutch contains three to six eggs. They are white with brown and gray spots. The breeding season falls in Eritrea during January to March and May to November, in Ethiopia breeding may occur from April to December. [3]

Outside the breeding season they live in flocks, sometimes consisting of several hundred individuals. Swarms of this size can cause some damage when they come in agricultural regions and gardens. [3]

Related Research Articles

Trumpeter finch Species of bird

The trumpeter finch is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae. It is mainly a desert species which is found in North Africa and Spain through to southern Asia. It has occurred as a vagrant in areas north of its breeding range.

Woodland kingfisher Species of bird

The woodland kingfisher is a tree kingfisher that is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara.

Chestnut-backed sparrow-lark Species of bird

The chestnut-backed sparrow-lark is a passerine bird which is a resident breeder in Africa south of the Sahara Desert.

Bronze mannikin Species of bird

The bronze mannikin or bronze munia is a small passerine bird of the Afrotropics. This very social estrildid finch is an uncommon to locally abundant bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, where it is resident, nomadic or irruptive in mesic savanna or forest margin habitats. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 8,100,000 km2. It is the smallest and most widespread of four munia species on the African mainland, the other being black-and-white, red-backed and magpie mannikin. It co-occurs with the Madagascar mannikin on the Comoro Islands, and was introduced to Puerto Rico. Especially in the West Africa, it is considered a pest in grain and rice fields. It is locally trapped for the pet bird trade.

Yellow-fronted canary Species of bird

The yellow-fronted canary , is a small passerine bird in the finch family. It is known elsewhere and in aviculture as the green singing finch.

Northern grey-headed sparrow Species of bird

The northern grey-headed sparrow, also known as the grey-headed sparrow, is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, which is resident in much of tropical Africa. It occurs in a wide range of open habitats, including open woodlands and human habitation, often occupying the same niche as the house sparrow does in Eurasia.

Village weaver Species of bird in the Ploceidae family

The village weaver , also known as the spotted-backed weaver or black-headed weaver, is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae found in much of sub-Saharan Africa. It has also been introduced to Portugal as well as to the islands of Hispaniola, Martinique, Puerto Rico, Mauritius and Réunion.

Black-necked weaver Species of bird

The black-necked weaver is a resident breeding bird species in much of tropical Africa from Senegal and northern Angola to South Sudan and Tanzania.

Red-billed quelea A small, migratory weaver bird native to Sub-Saharan Africa

The red-billed quelea, also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small—approximately 12 cm (4.7 in) long and weighing 15–26 g (0.53–0.92 oz)—migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa.

Iago sparrow Species of bird

The Iago sparrow, also known as the Cape Verde or rufous-backed sparrow, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean near western Africa. Females and young birds have brown plumage with black marks above, and a dull grey underside, and are distinguished from other species of sparrow by their large, distinct supercilium. Males have a brighter underside and bold black and chestnut stripes on their head. At 12.5–13 centimetres (4.9–5.1 in) long, it is a smaller sparrow. This bird's vocalisations are mostly variations on its chirp, which differ somewhat between males and females.

Chestnut sparrow Species of bird

The chestnut sparrow is a species of passerine bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. It is the smallest member of the sparrow family, at about 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The breeding male has deep chestnut plumage and the female and juvenile are coloured a duller grey with some chestnut markings. Like its closest relatives in the genus Passer, the Arabian golden sparrow and the Sudan golden sparrow, it is gregarious and found in arid areas. Ranging through the east of Africa from Darfur in Sudan to Tanzania, it is found in dry savanna, papyrus swamps, and near human habitation. Adults and juveniles both feed mostly on grass seeds, and fly in flocks, often with other species of birds, to find food. It nests in trees, building its own domed nests, and also usurping the more elaborate nests of weavers.

Cape sparrow A small passerine bird from southern Africa

The Cape sparrow, or mossie, is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae found in southern Africa. A medium-sized sparrow at 14–16 centimetres (5.5–6.3 in), it has distinctive plumage, including large pale head stripes in both sexes. Its plumage is mostly grey, brown, and chestnut, and the male has some bold black and white markings on its head and neck. The species inhabits semi-arid savannah, cultivated areas, and towns, and ranges from the central coast of Angola to eastern South Africa and Eswatini. Three subspecies are distinguished in different parts of its range.

Yellow bishop Species of bird

The yellow bishop, Cape bishop, Cape widow or yellow-rumped widow is a resident breeding bird species in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Striolated bunting Species of bird

The striolated bunting is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae.

African cuckoo-hawk Species of bird

The African cuckoo-hawk, or African baza, is a medium-sized raptor in the family Accipitridae so named because it resembles the common cuckoo. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa and along the eastern parts of Southern Africa, preferring dense woodland and forest of either indigenous or exotic trees.

Grey-headed kingfisher Species of bird

The grey-headed kingfisher is a species of kingfisher that has a wide distribution from the Cape Verde Islands off the north-west coast of Africa to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, east to Ethiopia, Somalia and southern Arabia and south to South Africa.

Taita fiscal Species of bird

The Taita fiscal or Teita fiscal is a member of the shrike family found in east Africa from southeastern South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and western Somalia to northeastern Tanzania. Its habitat is dry open thornbush and acacia and other dry open woodland.

Grey-headed batis Species of bird

The grey-headed batis is a species of bird in the wattle-eyes family, Platysteiridae, it was previously classified with the Old World flycatchers in the family Muscicapidae. It is found in eastern and central Africa.

Grey-capped social weaver Species of bird

The grey-capped social weaver is a sparrow-like liver-colored bird, with a pale grey crown, a dark grey bill, a whitish eye-ring, horn-colored legs, with some black in the wing and a light terminal band in the tail, that builds roofed nests made of straws, breeds in colonies in thorny Acacia trees, and feeds in groups gathering grass seeds and insects. Male and female have near identical plumage. DNA-analysis confirms it is part of the weaver family. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Yellow-crowned bishop Species of bird

The yellow-crowned bishop is a species of passerine bird in the family Ploceidae native to Africa south of the Sahara. It is highly sexually dimorphic in its breeding season, during which the male adopts a distinctive yellow and black plumage, contrasting with the female's predominantly brown coloration. Three subspecies are recognised.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2018). "Passer swainsonii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2018: e.T22718237A131883133. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T22718237A131883133.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  2. Boelens, Bo; Watkins, Michael (2003). Whose Bird?: Common Bird Names and the People They Commemorate. Yale University Press. pp. 330–331. ISBN   0-300-10359-X.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fry & Keith 2004 , pp. 4–5
  4. 1 2 Sinclair, Ian; Ryan, Peter (2003). Birds of Africa south of the Sahara. Cape Town: Struik.

Works cited