Sparrows

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Sparrows
House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

House Sparrow ( Passer domesticus )

Systematics
Subclass : New-jawed birds (Neognathae)
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes)
Subordination : Songbirds (passeri)
without rank: Passerida
Superfamily : Passeroidea
Family : Sparrows
Scientific name
Passeridae
Illiger , 1811
Damara Sparrows

The sparrows (Passeridae, from Latin passer , "sparrow") are a family of birds that belongs to the songbirds .

A total of eight genera with 43 species are included in this family. The word "Sperling" is derived from the Old High German sparo (Middle High German then spar 'fidget') with the final syllable -ling . Their distribution is predominantly Eurasia and Africa , with Africa being the focus of distribution. A few representatives of this genus have also been introduced to other continents. The house sparrow ( Passer domesticus ), also known as the sparrow , is found in large parts of North America and South America, for example, after European settlers introduced it there. The house sparrow is also widespread in Australia and New Zealand.

The tree sparrow ( Passer montanus ) occurs in Central Europe . The southern European willow sparrow ( Passer hispaniolensis ) is a little less known . The snow sparrow ( Montifringilla nivalis ), formerly known as the snow finch, from the high altitude of the Alps is also one of the sparrows. In Africa, the gray-headed sparrow is one of the most common sparrow species.

Distribution of the Passer domesticus , dark green = natural or original distribution range, light green = secondary distribution.

In Germany the house sparrow was bird of the year in 2002 .

In the past, part of humanity took action against sparrows in several so-called sparrow wars .

Appearance

Sex dimorphism in the house sparrow

Sparrows are small songbirds that typically reach a body length between 10 and 20 centimeters. They are compact birds with a head that is large in relation to their body size and a short, powerful beak that tapers to a point in front. In some species, the beak color changes from horn color to black during the breeding season. The tail is relatively short in most species and ends either in a straight line or is slightly notched, it always consists of twelve control feathers .

The plumage of most species is brown, gray or reddish brown. Only a few species also have yellow or white plumage. In some species there is a pronounced sexual dimorphism , in other species there is no gender-specific difference in plumage color. Young birds resemble the adult female.

Adult sparrows go through a full moult once a year, it begins after the last brood. Fledglings molt within the first month after flinging.

Habitat and way of life

Sparrows prefer open, dry or semi-arid regions as their habitat. They are also found in savannas, bushland, and deserts. They are also found in sparse forests as well as on arable land and in or near human settlements. Some species such as the house sparrow live in close proximity to humans and are also found in the inner-city areas of larger cities.

Most sparrow species nest in loose colonies, only a few species breed individually. Colonies can be very large: In Morocco, a breeding colony of the willow sparrow was observed in the 1950s, with around 125,000 nests on 60 hectares. There were up to 50 nests in a single tree. Reports of breeding colonies of this size are the exception: it was not until the 1980s that a breeding colony of willow sparrows with 4,678 nests was counted again in Algeria. At the time, a total of 35,000 pairs of willow sparrows were breeding in 13 colonies in an area that stretched over 40,000 square kilometers. This resulted in 0.9 breeding pairs per square kilometer.

Sparrows are usually monogamous, with a few species partnering as long as both partners are alive. Regardless of the location of the nest, it is in principle always a ball nest with a side entrance. The nest is usually not built very carefully; the nesting material that has not been worked on on the outside usually hangs loosely. Some species also use abandoned nests of other bird species. Both parent birds breed and are involved in the rearing of the young birds.

The sparrows have a very distinctive hierarchy within their colonies. This is attached to the respective size of its characteristic dark breast bibs; the larger and darker this bib, the higher the rank of the respective bird within its colony.

Sparrows often practice an interesting form of plumage care called dust bathing or sand bathing. To do this, they crouch in a hollow made of dry sand and dust and display a noticeable behavior in which the body is pressed to the ground and then quickly moved back and forth. It is a hygienic behavior with the aim of getting rid of the parasites in the plumage, such as feather lice or feather mites.

nutrition

The sparrows feed mainly on plant material, e.g. B. seeds, but also do not spurn small insects. The young brood in the nest is fed exclusively with animal material, the smallest insects and their larvae, the so-called meadow plankton.

Systematic classification

Sparrows are possibly closely related to the stilts (Motacillidae), which were sometimes counted as a subfamily of the Passeridae. With even further delimitation of the family, the brown cells (Prunellidae), weaver birds (Ploceidae), finches (Estrildidae) and widow birds (Viduidae) have also been included. These and other families are now sometimes grouped together to form the superfamily of the Passeroidea, whose relationship has also been confirmed by molecular genetic studies.

Genera and species

Red sparrow
( Passer rutilans )
Yellow-throated Sparrow
( Gymnoris xanthocollis )
Snow Sparrow
( Montifringilla nivalis )

After some species that had previously been counted among the sparrows have been shown to belong to the weaver birds (Ploceidae) through molecular genetic studies, the family currently (2019) still includes the following 43 species in eight genera according to the list of the International Ornithological Union :

literature

Web links

Commons : Sparrows  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Sperling  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bird of the Year (Germany): 2002
  2. ↑ a b c Fry / Keith, p. 1
  3. ↑ Fry / Keith, p. 28
  4. ↑ P. Beresford, FK Barker, PG Ryan and TM Crowe: African endemics span the tree of songbirds (Passeri): Molecular systematics of several evolutionary "enigmas" . In: Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B . tape 272 , 2005, pp. 849-858 , doi : 10.1098 / rspb.2004.2997 , PMID 15888418 ( royalsocietypublishing.org [PDF]).
  5. ^ Frank Gill & David Donsker, IOC World Bird List v 8.2  : Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers