Dead Sea sparrow
Dead Sea sparrow | |
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Male (above) and female (below) in south-eastern Turkey | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Passeridae |
Genus: | Passer |
Species: | P. moabiticus
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Binomial name | |
Passer moabiticus Tristram, 1864
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Synonyms | |
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The Dead Sea sparrow (Passer moabiticus) is a species of bird in the Old World sparrow family Passeridae, with one subspecies breeding in parts of the Middle East and another in western Afghanistan and eastern Iran. The eastern subspecies P. m. yatii is sometimes considered a separate species known as Yate's sparrow.[2]
Description
At 12–13 cm (4.7–5.1 in) long it is one of the smaller species of its family, some 4 cm (1.6 in) shorter than the widespread house sparrow.[3] Like most of its relatives, it is sexually dimorphic with males being more brightly and distinctively marked than females.[4]
The male Dead Sea sparrow has a grey crown, rear neck and cheeks, and a small black bib. It has a pale supercilium shading to buff at the rear, and yellow neck sides. The upperparts are dark-streaked reddish brown, and the underparts are grey-white.
The female looks like a small house sparrow, with a streaked brown back, greyish head and buff-white underparts. She is paler and smaller billed than the house sparrow, and sometimes shows yellow on the neck sides.
The eastern subspecies P. m. yatii is sandier, and the male has a yellow wash to the underparts.
The chirping song resembles those of house and Spanish sparrows, but is softer. The flight call is a high-pitched chi-wit. This species is often silent.
Distribution and habitat
The range of this species is spotty in the Middle East, largely in corridors along the
Genetic analysis of birds in Israel revealed high connectivity among different populations indicating migration of individuals between these populations. However, despite this gene flow there is latitudinal variation in wing length and body mass, with individuals in the north of Israel having longer wings and being heavier than those in the south suggesting local adaption in accordance with Bergmann's rule.[6]
Behaviour
This species feeds principally on
References
- . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
- S2CID 233588532.
- ^ Mullarney et al. 1999, pp. 342–343.
- ^ Summers-Smith 1988, p. 181-182.
- ^ ISBN 978-84-96553-50-7.
- S2CID 92656244.
Works cited
- Clement, Peter; Harris, Alan; Davis, John (1993). Finches and Sparrows: an Identification Guide. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-03424-9.
- Mullarney, Killian; Svensson, Lars; Zetterstrom, Dan; Grant, Peter (1999). ISBN 978-0-00-219728-1.
- ISBN 0-85661-048-8.
- Yom-Tov, Yoram; Ar, A (1980). "On the breeding ecology of the Dead Sea sparrow, Passer moabiticus". Israel Journal of Zoology. 29 (4): 171–187.
- Yom-Tov, Yoram (1980). "Intraspecific nest parasitism among dead sea sparrows Passer moabiticus". Ibis. 122 (2): 234–237. .
- Yom-Tov, Y.; Ar, A.; Mendelssohn, H. (1978). "Incubation Behavior of the Dead Sea Sparrow". Condor. 80 (3): 340–343. JSTOR 1368046.
- Yosef, Reuven; Zduniak, Piotr; Tryjanowski, Piotr (2004). "Age, sex and season related biometrics of the Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus" (PDF). Ardeola. 51 (2): 297–302.
External links
- Media related to Passer moabiticus at Wikimedia Commons
- Dead Sea sparrow at the Internet Bird Collection