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Chestnut sparrow
The chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey) is a species of passerine bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. It is the smallest member of the sparrow family, at about 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The breeding male has deep chestnut plumage and the female and juvenile are coloured a duller grey with some chestnut markings. Like its closest relatives in the genus Passer, the Arabian golden sparrow and the Sudan golden sparrow, it is gregarious and found in arid areas. Ranging through the east of Africa from Darfur in Sudan to Tanzania, it is found in dry savanna, papyrus swamps, and near human habitation. Adults and juveniles both feed mostly on grass seeds, and fly in flocks, often with other species of birds, to find food. It nests in trees, building its own domed nests, and also usurping the more elaborate nests of weavers.
This species was first described in 1880, by Gustav Hartlaub in the Journal für Ornithologie, as Sorella Emini Bey. Hartlaub gave it the specific name Emini Bey in honour of the explorer Emin Pasha, who collected the type specimen in modern South Sudan or Uganda near Lado, and it is occasionally given the eponymous common name Emin Bey's sparrow. Hartlaub's unusual spelling of its specific epithet as two words led some to spell the name emini or emini-bey. No subspecies are recognised, but one was described by British ornithologist George L. G. Van Someren in 1922 from Archers Post in central Kenya, as Sorella eminibey guasso.
Hartlaub considered the chestnut sparrow's colouration and morphology to be distinct enough to allocate it to its own monotypic genus, Sorella. Although a few authors have followed Hartlaub's treatment, it is usually placed in the genus Passer. It is very similar to the two golden sparrows, from which it may have once been only clinally different. The male Arabian golden sparrow is almost entirely gold-coloured, the male chestnut sparrow is mostly chestnut, and the male Sudan golden sparrow is intermediate between the two. British ornithologist Richard Meinertzhagen considered these three species to be conspecific; however, the range of the Sudan golden sparrow overlaps with that of the chestnut sparrow without any known interbreeding in a small area of Sudan. These species are similar in their behaviour, which is adapted to the unpredictable conditions of their arid habitat. In particular, they and the Dead Sea sparrow share a courtship display in which males quiver their wings above their body. This intense display is probably an adaptation to nesting in a clump of trees surrounded by similar habitat, where such an intense display may serve important purposes in keeping a colony together.
The chestnut and golden sparrows have been seen as highly primitive among the genus Passer, only distantly related to the house sparrow and the related "Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows". In recognition of this they are sometimes placed in a separate genus or subgenus Auripasser. The courtship display of the Dead Sea sparrow was thought to have evolved separately in a similar environment from that of these species, in an example of convergent evolution. However, mitochondrial DNA phylogenies indicate that the chestnut and golden sparrows are either derived from or are the closest relatives of the Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows.
Like the other members of the sparrow family, the chestnut sparrow is a small, chunky songbird with a thick bill suited to its diet of seeds. At 10.5 to 11.5 cm (4.1–4.5 in) in length, it is the smallest member of the sparrow family. It weighs between 12 grams (0.42 oz) and 17 grams (0.60 oz). Wing length ranges from 6.0 to 6.5 cm (2.4–2.6 in) in males and from 5.7 to 6.0 cm (2.2–2.4 in) in females. The tail, bill, and tarsus lengths are about 4 cm (1.6 in), 1 cm (0.39 in), and 1.5 cm (0.59 in) respectively.
The plumage of the breeding male is mostly a deep shade of chestnut in colour with black colouration on the face, wings, and tail. The breeding male is not easily confused with any other birds except the chestnut weaver, which is substantially larger and has white on its wings. The breeding male's legs and feet are horn (pale grey) in colour. The non-breeding male chestnut sparrow has white flecking on the upperparts, and much of its plumage is buff or whitish with chestnut crescent markings, until the bright chestnut of the breeding plumage is exposed by wear. The non-breeding male's bill fades to a dusky-tipped horn, similar to that of females, but without dusky tones on the cutting edge of the mandible (lower portion of beak).
Females have the same plumage pattern as males, though with somewhat duller colouration. The female has a grey head; buff supercilium, chin, and throat; black and warm brown upperparts; and off-white underparts. The bill of the female is pale yellow with the tip and cutting edge of mandible dusky. Juveniles are dull grey with a brown back, a pale yellow supercilium, and a pale horn bill. Females and juveniles have hints of chestnut on their supercilium, shoulders, and throat, by which they may be distinguished from other sparrows, such as the Kenya sparrow and the other rufous sparrows, which are common in much of the chestnut sparrow's range; or the house sparrow, which also occurs in parts of its range.
The basic call of the chestnut sparrow is a subdued chirp, with two recorded variations: a scolding threat call, rendered chrrrrit or chrrrrreeeerrrrrrrr and a chew chew flight call. Displaying males give a high twittering trill, rendered as tchiweeza tchiweeza tchi-tchi-tchi-tchi- see-see-see-seeichi.
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Chestnut sparrow AI simulator
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Chestnut sparrow
The chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey) is a species of passerine bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. It is the smallest member of the sparrow family, at about 11 cm (4.3 in) long. The breeding male has deep chestnut plumage and the female and juvenile are coloured a duller grey with some chestnut markings. Like its closest relatives in the genus Passer, the Arabian golden sparrow and the Sudan golden sparrow, it is gregarious and found in arid areas. Ranging through the east of Africa from Darfur in Sudan to Tanzania, it is found in dry savanna, papyrus swamps, and near human habitation. Adults and juveniles both feed mostly on grass seeds, and fly in flocks, often with other species of birds, to find food. It nests in trees, building its own domed nests, and also usurping the more elaborate nests of weavers.
This species was first described in 1880, by Gustav Hartlaub in the Journal für Ornithologie, as Sorella Emini Bey. Hartlaub gave it the specific name Emini Bey in honour of the explorer Emin Pasha, who collected the type specimen in modern South Sudan or Uganda near Lado, and it is occasionally given the eponymous common name Emin Bey's sparrow. Hartlaub's unusual spelling of its specific epithet as two words led some to spell the name emini or emini-bey. No subspecies are recognised, but one was described by British ornithologist George L. G. Van Someren in 1922 from Archers Post in central Kenya, as Sorella eminibey guasso.
Hartlaub considered the chestnut sparrow's colouration and morphology to be distinct enough to allocate it to its own monotypic genus, Sorella. Although a few authors have followed Hartlaub's treatment, it is usually placed in the genus Passer. It is very similar to the two golden sparrows, from which it may have once been only clinally different. The male Arabian golden sparrow is almost entirely gold-coloured, the male chestnut sparrow is mostly chestnut, and the male Sudan golden sparrow is intermediate between the two. British ornithologist Richard Meinertzhagen considered these three species to be conspecific; however, the range of the Sudan golden sparrow overlaps with that of the chestnut sparrow without any known interbreeding in a small area of Sudan. These species are similar in their behaviour, which is adapted to the unpredictable conditions of their arid habitat. In particular, they and the Dead Sea sparrow share a courtship display in which males quiver their wings above their body. This intense display is probably an adaptation to nesting in a clump of trees surrounded by similar habitat, where such an intense display may serve important purposes in keeping a colony together.
The chestnut and golden sparrows have been seen as highly primitive among the genus Passer, only distantly related to the house sparrow and the related "Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows". In recognition of this they are sometimes placed in a separate genus or subgenus Auripasser. The courtship display of the Dead Sea sparrow was thought to have evolved separately in a similar environment from that of these species, in an example of convergent evolution. However, mitochondrial DNA phylogenies indicate that the chestnut and golden sparrows are either derived from or are the closest relatives of the Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows.
Like the other members of the sparrow family, the chestnut sparrow is a small, chunky songbird with a thick bill suited to its diet of seeds. At 10.5 to 11.5 cm (4.1–4.5 in) in length, it is the smallest member of the sparrow family. It weighs between 12 grams (0.42 oz) and 17 grams (0.60 oz). Wing length ranges from 6.0 to 6.5 cm (2.4–2.6 in) in males and from 5.7 to 6.0 cm (2.2–2.4 in) in females. The tail, bill, and tarsus lengths are about 4 cm (1.6 in), 1 cm (0.39 in), and 1.5 cm (0.59 in) respectively.
The plumage of the breeding male is mostly a deep shade of chestnut in colour with black colouration on the face, wings, and tail. The breeding male is not easily confused with any other birds except the chestnut weaver, which is substantially larger and has white on its wings. The breeding male's legs and feet are horn (pale grey) in colour. The non-breeding male chestnut sparrow has white flecking on the upperparts, and much of its plumage is buff or whitish with chestnut crescent markings, until the bright chestnut of the breeding plumage is exposed by wear. The non-breeding male's bill fades to a dusky-tipped horn, similar to that of females, but without dusky tones on the cutting edge of the mandible (lower portion of beak).
Females have the same plumage pattern as males, though with somewhat duller colouration. The female has a grey head; buff supercilium, chin, and throat; black and warm brown upperparts; and off-white underparts. The bill of the female is pale yellow with the tip and cutting edge of mandible dusky. Juveniles are dull grey with a brown back, a pale yellow supercilium, and a pale horn bill. Females and juveniles have hints of chestnut on their supercilium, shoulders, and throat, by which they may be distinguished from other sparrows, such as the Kenya sparrow and the other rufous sparrows, which are common in much of the chestnut sparrow's range; or the house sparrow, which also occurs in parts of its range.
The basic call of the chestnut sparrow is a subdued chirp, with two recorded variations: a scolding threat call, rendered chrrrrit or chrrrrreeeerrrrrrrr and a chew chew flight call. Displaying males give a high twittering trill, rendered as tchiweeza tchiweeza tchi-tchi-tchi-tchi- see-see-see-seeichi.