Yemen gold sparrow

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Yemen gold sparrow
Yemen gold sparrow (above), in the foreground an eyebrow sparrow

Yemen gold sparrow (above), in the foreground an eyebrow sparrow

Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
Superfamily : Passeroidea
Family : Sparrows (Passeridae)
Genre : Passer
Type : Yemen gold sparrow
Scientific name
Passer euchlorus
( Bonaparte , 1851)

The Yemen-gold sparrow ( Passer euchlorus ) is a species of bird from the family of sparrows (Passeridae).

It occurs in a small area of East Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula . The IUCN classifies the Yemen gold sparrow as not endangered ( least concern ).

Appearance

The Yemen gold sparrow reaches a body length of 13 centimeters. There is a clear sexual and seasonal dimorphism .

The males have bright yellow heads and bodies during the breeding season. The feathers of the coat end with an olive green tip. The control feathers are black-brown with wide, pale gray-pink borders. The wings are black-brown with brownish-white seams. The beak is black, the eyes brown to hazel brown, the legs are light to yellowish-flesh-colored. In the plain dress , the upper side of the body is predominantly greenish-gray, each with a yellow feather base. This yellow feather base is mostly visible on the forehead. Some individuals have dark vertical stripes on the coat. The underside of the body is white. The control feathers are colored like in a splendid dress . The beak is light horn-colored or gray-brown.

The females have a yellowish forehead in their splendid dress. The parting and the sides of the neck are gray-olive green. The defect is gray-olive green with indistinct black vertical stripes. The rump and the upper tail-coverts are greenish-gray. The control feathers are colored like the male. The sides of the head and the region from the chin to the chest are dull yellow. The rest of the underside of the body is brownish-white with a yellowish tinge. In the plain dress, the top of the body is gray-brown, the crown and the sides of the head as well as the neck are washed over with reddish-brown.

Distribution area and similar species

The Yemen gold sparrow occurs only in north-western Somalia, in Yemen, in Djibouti and the regions of Ethiopia bordering Djibouti. In Ethiopia, the distribution area comes close to that of the brown back gold sparrow. This is less yellowish than the Yemen gold sparrow. The females of the brown-backed gold sparrow differ by a stronger brown on the upper side of the body, they also lack the longitudinal stripes that are characteristic of the plumage of the Yemen gold sparrow female.

The Yemen gold sparrow is predominantly a resident bird , but in some years it roams nomadically within its range in order to open up new foraging grounds.

Habitat and way of life

The Yemen gold sparrow lives in the lowlands near the coast up to an altitude of 200 meters. Its arid habitat is characterized by dunes and wadis and has low bushes, salt marshes , small acacias and thorn bushes. It is also found in gardens and agricultural growing areas. In Yemen it is an outspoken cultural follower, which can be found mainly on agricultural land.

The Yemen gold sparrow is a sociable bird all year round. It typically occurs in troops with 10 to 30 individuals, occasionally troops of several thousand individuals are sighted in Yemen. It is often associated with house sparrows and yellow weavers . It eats the seeds of grasses and cereals, especially millet, sorghum and corn.

Yemen gold sparrows are colony breeders: several hundred breeding pairs settle in neighboring trees. There are usually 20 to 30 nests in a single tree, but up to 80 nests have been found in a tree. The colony site is often used for several years and then suddenly abandoned. Occasionally form Yemen Gold sparrows with the closely related Chestnut Sparrow , the house sparrow and the Gildweber breeding colonies, which can then include between 1,000 and 2,000 breeding pairs.

The nest is a ball nest with a long side entrance. It is not built very carefully; the nesting material that has not been processed outside usually hangs loosely. The nesting trough is lined with soft grass, feathers and wool. It is usually found at the end of the branches of acacia or Conocarpus lancifolius two to five meters above the ground. Both parent birds are involved in building the nest.

The clutch usually consists of two to three eggs. These have a smooth, glossy white surface with dark spots and lines. In Djibouti, the breeding season falls from March to May. The breeding season falls either in the rainy season or in the beginning of the dry season. Occasionally, Yemen gold sparrows raise two broods a year. It only breeds the female.

Systematics

The chestnut sparrow, the Yemen gold sparrow and the brown-backed gold back sparrow were long considered the most original species within the genus Passer, with only a relatively low degree of relationship to the house sparrow and the other black-throated sparrow species found in the Palearctic. They were therefore occasionally placed in the genus Auripasser . However, studies of mitochondrial DNA indicate that both the chestnut sparrow and the Yemen and brown-backed golden sparrow either descend from or are closely related to these black-throated sparrow species.

literature

Single receipts

  1. ↑ Fry et al., P. 40
  2. ↑ a b c Fry et al., P. 41
  3. ↑ Luis M. Allende, Rubio, Isabel; Ruíz-del-Valle, Valentin; Guillén, Jesus; Martínez-Laso, Jorge; Lowy, Ernesto; Varela, Pilar; Zamora, Jorge; Arnaiz-Villena, Antonio: The Old World sparrows (genus Passer ) phylogeography and their relative abundance of nuclear mtDNA pseudogenes . (PDF) In: Journal of Molecular Evolution . 53, No. 2, 2001, pp. 144-154. doi : 10.1007 / s002390010202 . PMID 11479685 .

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