Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)
Common Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer griseus) - HBW 14, p. 801
French: Moineau gris
German: Graukopfsperling
Spanish: Gorrión Gris
Other common names: Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Taxonomy: Fringilla grisea Vieillot, 1817, United States; error = Senegal.
Forms a superspecies with P. swainsonii, P. gongonensis, P. suahelicus and P. diffusus; all are often treated as conspecific, but they appear not to interbreed in at least parts of their ranges where geographical overlap occurs. It is suggested that an earlier population of grey-headed sparrows was split into five groups by a pluvial period in Pleistocene; as climate became drier, these five then spread and again came into contact with one another, but by then had become sufficiently distinct to remain separate, partly through minor habitat preferences and morpholo.. View all taxonomy...
Forms a superspecies with P. swainsonii, P. gongonensis, P. suahelicus and P. diffusus; all are often treated as conspecific, but they appear not to interbreed in at least parts of their ranges where geographical overlap occurs. It is suggested that an earlier population of grey-headed sparrows was split into five groups by a pluvial period in Pleistocene; as climate became drier, these five then spread and again came into contact with one another, but by then had become sufficiently distinct to remain separate, partly through minor habitat preferences and morphological differences. Race mosambicus of P. diffusus considered by some to belong with present species. Three subspecies currently recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- laeneni Niethammer, 1955 - Mali and Burkina Faso E to W Sudan, S to N Cameroon.
- griseus ( Vieillot, 1817) - Senegal and S Mauritania E to Ivory Coast and to S Sudan, S to N Gabon and extreme N Central African Republic; also Bioko I (Fernandóo Po).
- ugandae Reichenow, 1904 - N Ethiopia, N Eritrea and SE Sudan S to Angola, extreme N Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, C & NE Tanzania and N & NE Zimbabwe.
- Least Concern Enlarge map
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A bird in a tree, calling Locality Kanyanchu, Kibale National Park, Uganda (ssp ugandae)
Josep del Hoyo 2 September 2006 6 years ago 32 sec 4.8 -
looking around Locality Marakissa, Western Division, The Gambia (ssp griseus)
Daniêl Jimenez 3 January 2012 1 year ago 17 sec 4.5 -
Two birds on the ground, feeding from a piece of yuca Locality Mabamba Wetland, Uganda (ssp ugandae)
Josep del Hoyo 26 August 2006 6 years ago 48 sec 4.4 -
A bird on a branch, preening Locality Nianing, Thiès Region, Senegal (ssp griseus)
Juan Sanabria 9 January 2007 5 years ago 31 sec 4.3 -
Nesting in an swallow nest Locality Akagera National Park, East Province, Rwanda
Pascal Vagner 4 March 2013 4 days ago ADDED LAST WEEK 29 sec 4.2 -
Two birds at a birdbath, one of them bathing, and then both flying away Locality Travelers Rest Hotel, Kibale National Park, Uganda (ssp ugandae)
Josep del Hoyo 12 September 2006 5 years ago 37 sec 4
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Searching for food near our camp
Locality Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Kalahari Gemsbok NP), Northern Cape Province, South Africa
Marco Valentini 14 August 2011 1 year ago 4.5 -
adult drinking in puddle.
Locality Arusha Town, Arusha Region, Tanzania (ssp ugandae.)
M P Goodey 1 January 2009 1 year ago 3.9 -
Gorrión cabecigris fotografiado en Lamin lodge (Gambia)
Locality
Juan José Bazán Hiraldo 11 October 2008 2 years ago 3.9 -
Ventral view of perched adult
Locality Lomie, East Province, Cameroon (ssp griseus)
Mikko Pyhälä 11 January 2013 11 weeks ago 3.8 -
Adult
Locality Saly, Thiès Region, Senegal (ssp griseus)
Alain Fossé 19 February 2004 3 years ago 3.4 -
A bird on the ground
Locality Kribi, South Province, Cameroon
Tadeusz Stawarczyk 27 February 2012 48 weeks ago 3.3
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Contac calls by one bird. Locality Kanyanchu, Kibale National Park, Uganda
(ssp ugandae)
Josep del Hoyo 2 September 2006 19 weeks ago 4
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