- Passer griseus
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Identification
Distribution
Widespread in central and western Africa.
Taxonomy
Previously considered conspecific with the Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (P. diffusus) of southern Africa, the Swahili Sparrow (P. suahelicus) from Tanzania and nearby parts of Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique, Swainson's Sparrow (P. swainsonii) from Ethiopia and nearby parts of Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan, and the Parrot-billed Sparrow (P. gongonenesis) from Kenya and nearby parts of Uganda, Somalia and Sudan.
These are rather similar species that mainly differ in colour of mantle, exact hue of underparts, size of white shoulder patch and size of bill.
Within their range, these species are locally common in open to semi-open habitats. Most are also frequent in villages, but Parrot-billed Sparrows usually avoid such.
Habitat
Behaviour
References
Lepage D. 2007. Avibase. Search for Passer griseus downloaded 13 September 2007.