Northern Grey-headed Sparrow - BirdForum Opus

Passer griseus

Northern Grey-headed Sparrow

Photo by tf1044x
The Gambia.

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.

References

Lepage D. 2007. Avibase. Search for Passer griseus downloaded 13 September 2007.

External Links

Search for photos of Northern Grey-headed Sparrow in the gallery