Sudan golden sparrow
| Sudan golden sparrow | |
|---|---|
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| A male in the National Aviary, Pittsburgh, U.S. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Suborder: | Passeri |
| Infraorder: | Passerida |
| Superfamily: | Passeroidea |
| Family: | Passeridae |
| Genus: | Passer |
| Species: | P. luteus |
| Binomial name | |
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Passer luteus (Lichtenstein, 1823) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Fringilla lutea Lichtenstein, 1823 |
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Fringilla lutea Lichtenstein, 1823
The Sudan golden sparrow (Passer luteus) is a small bird in the sparrow family, found to the south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. It is a popular cage bird, and in aviculture it is known as the golden song sparrow. The Arabian golden sparrow and this species are sometimes considered one species, the golden sparrow.
The Sudan golden sparrow is a smaller sparrow, at 12–13 cm (4.5–5 in) in length, with a wingspan of 5.7–7 cm (2.2–2.8 in). Males are distinctive in their bright yellow head and underparts, deep chestnut brown wings and back, and two white wingbars. In the breeding season the male's plumage is brighter still, and the bill changes colour from horn to shiny black. Females are pale sandy-buff with yellowish face, light brown wings, a back faintly streaked with chestnut, and pale yellow fading to whitish on the underparts. Juveniles are similar to females, but greyer. About 10 weeks after hatching young males may start to get a yellow wash around the shoulder area. Its basic call is a chirp or tchirrup, similar to that of other sparrows. Variations include a song-like call, and a rapid rhythmic che-che-che.
This species was first described by Martin Lichtenstein in 1823, as Fringilla lutea, from a specimen collected at Dongola, Sudan. Since then it has generally been placed in the genus Passer. The species name luteus means saffron yellow in Latin.
The two golden sparrows are very similar, and have often been treated as the same species. Both are similar to the chestnut sparrow, and all three may once have 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. British ornithologist Richard Meinertzhagen considered even the chestnut sparrow to be conspecific, though the range of the Sudan golden sparrow overlaps with that of the chestnut sparrow without any known interbreeding in a small area of Darfur. The three 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.
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Wikipedia