- Passer griseus
Description
Previously considered conspecific with Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (P. diffusus). On the contrary often split into four rather similar species that mainly differ in colour of mantle, exact hue of underparts, size of white shoulder patch and size of bill. The four groups are:
1) Northern Grey-headed Sparrow (P. griseus); widespread in central and western Africa. 2) Swahili Sparrow (P. suahelicus) from Tanzania and nearby parts of Kenya, Malawi and Mozambique. 3) Swainson's Sparrow (P. swainsonii) from Ethiopia and nearby parts of Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan. 4) Parrot-billed Sparrow (P. gongonenesis) from Kenya and nearby parts of Uganda, Somalia and Sudan.
Within their range, all four are locally common in open to semi-open habitats. First three groups are also frequent in villages, but the Parrot-billed usually avoid such.
Identification
Locality: Gambia.
