Passer
| Passer | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
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| Male cape sparrows in Namibia | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Passeridae |
| Genus: |
Passer Brisson, 1760 |
| Species | |
|
See text. |
|
| Synonyms | |
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Pyrgita Cuvier, 1817 |
|
See text.
Pyrgita Cuvier, 1817
Corospiza Bonaparte, 1850
Auripasser Bonaparte, 1851
Sorella Hartlaub, 1880
Ammopasser Zarudny, 1880
Passer is a genus of sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, some 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 name Passer is the Latin for sparrow.
Studies by Arnaiz-Villena et al. have examined the evolutionary relationships of the genus Passer with other members of the family Passeridae, and of members of the genus in relation to each other. According to a study by Arnaiz Villena et al. published in 2001, the genus originated in Africa and the Cape sparrow is the most basal lineage. The particular lineages within the genus, such as the house sparrow and other Palaearctic black-bibbed sparrows, likely originate from radiations from southern and western Africa.
These are the species recognised by the Handbook of the Birds of the World, except for the Abd al-Kuri sparrow, the split of which from the Socotra sparrow was recognised by BirdLife International in 2010. Besides these living species, there are questionable fossils from as long ago as the Early Miocene, and Passer predomesticus is from the .
These sparrows are plump little brown or greyish birds, often with black, yellow or white markings. Typically 10–20 centimetres (3.9–7.9 in) long, they range in size from the chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey), at 11.4 centimetres (4.5 in) and 13.4 grams (0.47 oz), to the parrot-billed sparrow (Passer gongonensis), at 18 centimetres (7.1 in) and 42 grams (1.5 oz). They have strong, stubby conical beaks with decurved culmens and blunter tips. All species have calls similar to the house sparrow's chirrup or tschilp call, and some, though not the house sparrow, have elaborate songs.
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