Chestnut sparrow
Chestnut sparrow | |
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Male in breeding plumage in Kenya | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Passeridae |
Genus: | Passer |
Species: | P. eminibey
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Binomial name | |
Passer eminibey (Hartlaub, 1880)
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Synonyms | |
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The chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey) 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.
Taxonomy and systematics
This species was first described in 1880, by
Hartlaub considered the chestnut sparrow's colouration and
The chestnut and golden sparrows have been seen as highly primitive among the genus Passer, only distantly related to the house sparrow and the related "
Description
Like the other members of the sparrow family, the chestnut sparrow is a small, chunky songbird with a thick bill suited to its diet of seeds. At 10.5 to 11.5 cm (4.1–4.5 in) in length,[10] it is the smallest member of the sparrow family.[11][12] It weighs between 12 grams (0.42 oz) and 17 grams (0.60 oz).[10] Wing length ranges from 6.0 to 6.5 cm (2.4–2.6 in) in males and from 5.7 to 6.0 cm (2.2–2.4 in) in females. The tail, bill, and tarsus lengths are about 4 cm (1.6 in), 1 cm (0.39 in), and 1.5 cm (0.59 in) respectively.[13]
The
Females have the same plumage pattern as males, though with somewhat duller colouration.[14] The female has a grey head; buff supercilium, chin, and throat; black and warm brown upperparts; and off-white underparts. The bill of the female is pale yellow with the tip and cutting edge of mandible dusky. Juveniles are dull grey with a brown back, a pale yellow supercilium, and a pale horn bill.[13][15] Females and juveniles have hints of chestnut on their supercilium, shoulders, and throat, by which they may be distinguished from other sparrows, such as the Kenya sparrow and the other rufous sparrows, which are common in much of the chestnut sparrow's range; or the house sparrow, which also occurs in parts of its range.[13]
The basic call of the chestnut sparrow is a subdued chirp, with two recorded variations: a scolding threat call, rendered chrrrrit or chrrrrreeeerrrrrrrr and a chew chew flight call. Displaying males give a high twittering trill, rendered as tchiweeza tchiweeza tchi-tchi-tchi-tchi- see-see-see-seeichi.[10][16]
Distribution and habitat
The chestnut sparrow is found in East Africa in mostly lower country from Darfur through
Behaviour and ecology
Chestnut sparrows are gregarious, and are only occasionally found away from flocks. They frequently associate with queleas and other weavers.[17] Adults feed on grass seeds, and those near human habitations will also eat crumbs and other household scraps.[16] Nestlings are fed mostly softer grass seeds, and small beetles are also recorded in their diet.[18]
Breeding
The nesting behaviour of the chestnut sparrow chestnut sparrow has been the subject of confusion. Early reports described the chestnut sparrow's nest as being a typical sparrow nest built in a tree; later it was reported that chestnut sparrows had elaborate nests like those of weavers.
At Payne's study locality the breeding season of the chestnut sparrow lagged behind that of its host. The sparrows began courting when the weavers started constructing their elaborate nests. Once the breeding season began, "the first impression was of the sparrows nesting and the grey-capped social weavers unobtrusively skulking nearby".[18] Males displayed around the new weaver nests, crouching, raising and quivering their wings in a shallow V, and giving a high, twittering trill. The males were chased by the social-weavers, but returned persistently, until joined by females. When a female came near a displaying male, the male would increase his rate of wing quivering, spread and depress his tail, and bow down his head, until his body formed an arc.[18] This exaggerated display may be an adaptation related to pair formation in the absence of male nest-building,[18] and it may also serve to focus attention in breeding colonies and keep the birds in a colony together, as colonies are in clumps of trees surrounded by similar habitat.[7]
During Payne's study, copulation was seen only in the acacias, around the social-weaver nests. Females would fly to displaying males and solicit copulation in typical sparrow fashion, crouching, quivering, and drooping their wings. When males saw displaying females, they would fly to them and mount them immediately.[18] Males continued their wing quivering during copulation, and females would crouch, quiver, raise their head, and hold their tails horizontally. After a copulation the female would fly off and the male would continue displaying. During this courtship and afterwards, males and mated pairs would interfere with the social-weavers' nest building, until they drove the social-weavers out. During Payne's study period, "Chases and fights between the two species were seen nearly every minute of observation", and the male sparrows spent about a fifth of their day annoying the social-weavers.[18] Little is recorded of incubation and fledging periods in the wild.[14] In captivity the incubation period lasts for 18 to 19 days.[10] Clutches typically contain three or four eggs,[14] which are ovular, mostly coloured white or bluish-white.[24] Some observations indicate that nestlings are fed by the female alone.[10]
References
- ^ . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ S2CID 44599530.
- ^ a b Hartert, Ernst (1904). "Miscellanea Ornithologica: Critical, Nomenclatorial, and Other Notes, Mostly on Palaearctic Birds". Novitates Zoologicae. 11.
- ^ a b c d Summers-Smith 1988, p. 61
- ^ Friedmann 1930, pp. 392–393
- ^ Summers-Smith 1988, p. 305
- ^ a b c d Summers-Smith 1988, pp. 263, 290
- PMID 11479685. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 July 2011.
- ^ González, Javier; Siow, Melanie; Garcia-del-Rey, Eduardo; Delgado, Guillermo; Wink, Michael (2008). Phylogenetic relationships of the Cape Verde Sparrow based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA (PDF). Systematics 2008, Göttingen. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 July 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Summers-Smith 2009, p. 806
- ^ Bledsoe & Payne 1991, p. 222
- ^ Summers-Smith 1988, p. 290
- ^ a b c d e Clement, Harris & Davis 1993, pp. 467–468
- ^ a b c d e Summers-Smith 1988, p. 65
- ^ Sharpe 1888, p. 332
- ^ a b Summers-Smith 1988, p. 66
- ^ a b Summers-Smith 1988, p. 62
- ^ ISSN 1474-919X.
- ^ Summers-Smith 1988, p. 63
- ^ Davies 2000, pp. 243–244
- ^ Summers-Smith 2009, p. 780
- JSTOR 1313376.
- ^ Summers-Smith 1988, p. 64
- ^ Ogilvie-Grant 1912, p. 211
Works cited
- Bledsoe, A. H.; Payne, R. B. (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. ISBN 978-1-85391-186-6.
- Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan; Davis, John (1993). Finches and Sparrows: An Identification Guide. London: ISBN 978-0-7136-8017-1.
- Davies, Nick B. (2000). Cuckoos, Cowbirds, and other cheats. illustrated by ISBN 978-0-85661-135-3.
- Friedmann, Herbert (1930). "Birds Collected by the Childs Frick Expedition to Ethiopia and Kenya County. Part 2.—Passeres". Smithsonian Institution United States National Museum Bulletin (153). .
- Ogilvie-Grant, W. R. (1912). Catalogue of the collection of birds' eggs in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume V: Carinatæ (Passeriformes completed). London: Taylor and Francis.
- Sharpe, R. Bowdler (1888). Catalogue of the Passeriformes, or Perching Birds, in the Collection of the British Museum. Fringilliformes: Part III. Containing the Family Fringillidæ. Vol. XII. London: Taylor and Francis.
- ISBN 978-0-85661-048-6.
- Summers-Smith, J. Denis (2009). "Family Passeridae (Old World Sparrows)". In del Hoyo, Josep; Elliott, Andrew; Christie, David (eds.). ISBN 978-84-96553-50-7.