Passer is a genus of sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus contains 28 species and includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, two of the most common birds in the world. They are small birds with thick bills for eating seeds, and are mostly coloured grey or brown. Native to the Old World, some species have been introduced throughout the world.
The genus Passer was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[1] [2] The type species was subsequently designated as the house sparrow (Passer domesticus).[2] [3] The name Passer is the Latin word for "sparrow."[4]
The genus contains 28 species:[5] [6]
| Image | Common Name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape sparrow | Passer melanurus | central coast of Angola to eastern South Africa and Swaziland | |
| Chestnut sparrow | Passer eminibey | Darfur in Sudan to Tanzania | |
| Kordofan sparrow | Passer cordofanicus | South Sudan and Chad | |
| Shelley's sparrow | Passer shelleyi | eastern Africa from South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and north-western Somalia to northern Uganda and north-western Kenya | |
| Kenya sparrow | Passer rufocinctus | Kenya and Tanzania | |
| Great sparrow | Passer motitensis | southern Africa | |
| Northern grey-headed sparrow | Passer griseus | tropical Africa | |
| Swainson's sparrow | Passer swainsonii | northeastern Africa | |
| Swahili sparrow | Passer suahelicus | southern Kenya and Tanzania | |
| Parrot-billed sparrow | Passer gongonensis | eastern Africa | |
| Southern grey-headed sparrow | Passer diffusus | Angola and Zambia southwards into South Africa | |
| Sind sparrow | Passer pyrrhonotus | Indus valley region in South Asia | |
| Russet sparrow | Passer cinnamomeus | southeastern Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh to Kashmir and Nuristan in Afghanistan, as well as China, Korea, and Japan | |
| Eurasian tree sparrow | Passer montanus | Temperate Eurasia and Southeast Asia. Introduced in Sardinia, eastern Indonesia, the Philippines, Micronesia, Victoria and New South Wales in Australia and the U.S. states of Missouri, Illinois and Iowa. | |
| Saxaul sparrow | Passer ammodendri | Central Asia | |
| Plain-backed sparrow | Passer flaveolus | Myanmar to central Vietnam, and south to the western part of Peninsular Malaysia | |
| Abd al-Kuri sparrow | Passer hemileucus | Abd al Kuri in the Socotra archipelago | |
| Socotra sparrow | Passer insularis | islands of Socotra, Samhah, and Darsah | |
| Spanish sparrow | Passer hispaniolensis | Mediterranean region, Macaronesia and south-west and central Asia | |
| Italian sparrow | Passer italiae | northern and central Italy, Corsica, and small parts of France, Switzerland, Austria, and Slovenia | |
| House sparrow | Passer domesticus | Middle East, Eurasia and parts of North Africa. Introduced in subarctic North America, southern South America, southern Africa, eastern Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii | |
| Somali sparrow | Passer castanopterus | northern Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. | |
| Passer iagoensis | archipelago of Cape Verde | ||
| Passer simplex | Sahara Desert of northern Africa | ||
| Passer zarudnyi | Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan | ||
| Passer euchlorus | south west Arabia and also the coast of Somalia and Djibouti | ||
| Passer luteus | sub-Saharan Africa | ||
| Passer moabiticus | Middle East and another in western Afghanistan and eastern Iran | ||
These sparrows are plump little brown or greyish birds, often with black, yellow or white markings. Typically 10cm–20cmcm (00inches–10inchescm) long, they range in size from the chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey), at 11.4cm (04.5inches) and 13.4g, to the parrot-billed sparrow (Passer gongonensis), at 18cm (07inches) and 42g.[7] They have strong, stubby conical beaks with decurved culmens and blunter tips.[8] All species have calls similar to the house sparrow's chirrup or tschilp call, and some, though not the house sparrow, have elaborate songs.
Most of its members are found naturally in open habitats in the warmer climates of Africa and southern Eurasia. Evolutionary studies suggest the genus originated in Africa. Several species have adapted to human habitation, and this has enabled the house sparrow in particular, in close association with humans, to extend its Eurasian range well beyond what was probably its original home in the Middle East.[9] Apart from this natural colonisation, the house sparrow has been introduced to many parts of the world outside its natural range, including the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia. The Eurasian tree sparrow has also been artificially introduced on a smaller scale, with populations in Australia and locally in Missouri and Illinois in the United States.[9]
Passer sparrows build an untidy nest, which, depending on species and nest site availability, may be in a bush or tree, a natural hole in a tree, in a building or in thatch, or in the fabric of the nest of species such as the white stork. The clutch of up to eight eggs is incubated by both parents typically for 12–14 days, with another 14–24 more days to fledging.
Passer sparrows are primarily ground-feeding seed-eaters, though they also consume small insects especially when breeding. A few species, like the house sparrow and northern grey-headed sparrow scavenge for food around cities, and are almost omnivorous. Most Passer species are gregarious and will form substantial flocks.