Alternative name: Cape Sparrow (which is usually used for Passer melanurus!)
- Passer diffusus
Identification
Length 15-16 cm, mass 24 g. The head is grey, the back brown, and the rump is bright rufous and conspicuous in flight. The wings have short, but usually obvious white wingbars. White to pale grey underparts. The eyes, legs and feet are brown, and the bill is black when breeding (horn when not breeding).
P. d. stygiseps is darker above than the nominate with duller breast and flanks.
Similar species
In the northern extremity of its range (north of 19° S), it is easily confused with the very similar Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, which is slightly heavier with a longer tail and longer bill. The Northern Grey-headed Sparrow is also darker, with a less-distinct wing-bar.
Distribution
South Africa, Lesotho, eSwatini, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, southern Malawi, south-western Angola and southeast Tanzania.
Common and widespread over most of its range.
Taxonomy
Usually four, sometimes only two subspecies accepted:
- P. d. diffusus in western and southern Angola east to Zambia, south to Namibia, Botswana, western Zimbabwe and western South Africa
- P. d. luangwae in the upper Luangwa Valley in eastern Zambia
- P. d. mosambicus in southeast Tanzania and northern Mozambique (sometimes also placed in Northern Grey-headed Sparrow)
- P. d. stygiceps in southeast Zambia, southern Malawi, northern and eastern Zimbabwe, most of Mozambique, northeast and eastern South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho
Forms a superspecies with Northern Grey-headed Sparrow, Swainson's Sparrow, Parrot-billed Sparrow and Swahili Sparrow. All are often treated as conspecific.
Habitat
Savanna woodland and plantation edges. Often found near settlements and in cropping areas.
Behaviour
Often solitary or in pairs, but can congregate in flocks of up to 200 in winter. Forages on the ground, often in mixed-species flocks of seed-eaters. Walks and hops. Food is mainly seeds, but also small fruit, nectar and insects.
Breeds in all months of year, coinciding with local rains. A solitary breeder, sometimes also in loose colonies. The nest is made of dry grass and placed in a hole in a tree or a building. Competes with introduced House Sparrow for nest-sites. Lays 2 - 5 eggs.
References
- Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
- Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507
- Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 0620340533
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Southern Grey-headed Sparrow. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 31 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Southern_Grey-headed_Sparrow
