Introduction - Sparrows

Species in family Passeridae: 79
Species in subfamily Passerinae: 16
Species in genus Passer: 8
Species in India: 5

Status & Distribution in India

Distribution of sparrows in India

The sparrows are the brown and fluffy little birds which are always around us but rarely noticed. They are omnipresent in our lives and are almost everywhere. They share our homes and share our food. The sparrow is the most widely distributed and common species of India they affect all almost all habitats. Whole of the country covered, including the desert areas and the cold region. When we say sparrows we usually refer to House Sparrows which is the commonest and has the widest distribution. We know less about the brethren of the House Sparrow like the Eurasian Tree Sparrows and even less about the Spanish, Sind Sparrow or Russet Sparrows which are locally common. Of the five species of sparrows in India four are breeding residents. The Spanish Sparrows are winter migrants.

Species Guide

Note that clicking on a species name below will take you to a specific page for that species containing additional information (where available).

House Sparrow (Male) Passer domesticus copyright Sujan Chatterjee; 2004

House Sparrow (Female) Passer domesticus copyright Sujan Chatterjee; 2004

Local Names: Ginjishki (Baluchi); Goura (Nepali); Gouriya (Hindi) Chakli (Gujrati); Charai ( Bengali); Ghor Charika ( Assamese); Sendang (Manipuri); Angnadi Kurwi (Malayalam); Adaikala Kurwi (Tamil)

Size: length 15cm (6in)

Description: Male Above: crown grey. Lores and around eye black. Sides of crown behind eye, sides of the neck and upper back chestnut. Back is rufous- chestnut brown. Below, sides of throat white. Center of throat and breast black. Rest of underparts, greyish white. In winter the crown becomes grey-brown and the black of the throat and the breast fringed with whitish.Female. Above grayish brown streaked with fulvous and dark brown on the back. A pale supercilium. Below, plain, brownish white.

Call: the very familiar noisy chiruping

Distribution: There are three subspecies of House Sparrows recorded within Indian territories. The most widely distributed is the P. d. indicus Jardine & Selby. They are resident, very widespread and abundant. Some times they are subjected to local movements. They are found all over Indian mainland and has been introduced in Andaman Islands. The P. d. parkini Whistler is a common resident of Himalayas from Baltistan, Kashmir and Ladakh east to Sikkim. They breed mostly above 2000m to above 4500m. The wintering P. d. bactrianus Zarudny & Kudashev was recorded in small numbers in Rajasthan. They breed in Tadjik SSR of Kazaksthan.

Habitat: Greatly affected by enormous spread of range within recent historical time, changing breeding habits and diet, and close and flexible association with man; thus liable only to limited interspecific competition, though in parts of range competes with Tree Sparrow and Spanish Sparrow which show similar but much more limited tendencies. Avoids closed or dense vegetation, from forests to plantations, large thickets, reed beds, and some high-density built-up areas, especially where structures are tall and lacking in ledges and vegetation. Except for seasonal foraging in cornfields and on other crops, usually avoids open terrain lacking in shrub, tree, or other cover, and, unlike some congeners, shows little attraction to either fresh water or

Spanish Sparrow (Male) Passer hispaniolensis; copyright Sujan Chatterjee; 2004

Spanish Sparrow (Male) Passer hispaniolensis; copyright Sujan Chatterjee; 2004

Spanish Sparrow (Female) Passer hispaniolensis; copyright Mike Prince; 2004

Polytypic Size: 15 cm (6 in) Description: Male Above, crown and nape chestnut. Back black with whitish streaks. Wings pale brown. Below, cheeks white. Throat and breast black. Rest of underparts whitish streaked with dark brown on flanks. Chestnut crown and conspicuously streaked flanks distinguish the males from the House Sparrow; black on the breast more extensive on sides. Female has faint streaking on breast but not distinguishable from House Sparrow unless in hand, and then without surety. Call: Generally very similar to House Sparrow P. domesticus, but advertising-calls typically fuller and louder with strident quality. Status & Distribution: Winter visitor and locally abundant and passage migrant. The plains of Punjab and Haryana from Kohat east to Ambala (Harike); south to northeastern Rajasthan and Bhawalpur.

Habitat: Typically, however, a warm lowland moisture-loving species inhabiting trees, shrubs, thickets, and reedbeds along riversides or irrigation ditches, groves of date palms Phoenix, Acacia, and eucalyptus, and even glades in woods and forests. In the course of recent evolution it seems that this species tended to diverge from P. domesticus partly by becoming adapted to less arid areas and even to moist habitats, and partly by preferring to nest in vegetation and less frequently occupying human cultivation and settlements In Tunisia, seems to be a typical steppe species which avoids woodland and mountains and has taken advantage of cultivation of cereals; where P. domesticus is locally absent, seasonally occupies the normal urban niche of that species; In India, winters in large flocks, both in cultivation and semi-desert.

Migration: Some southern European populations are mainly resident, but others partially migrate. Populations in north-west Africa are both migratory and nomadic. Eastern populations show more regular migratory behavior, in some areas moving further north for successive breeding attempts. Winters in Spain, North Africa, Middle East, central Asia, northern Pakistan, and north-west India.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus copyright Sujan Chatterjee; 2004

Polytypic Local Names: Choti Gouriya (Hindi); Konchika ( Assamese); Sendung (Manipuri). Size: 13 cm (5.5in) Description: About 15% smaller and slighter than House Sparrow, with proportionately smaller bill and head. Male Above, crown and nape chocolate-brown. Sides of head white with a black patch on ear coverts. Rest of upperparts brown streaked with a black on back. Rest of underparts, grayish whitish. Sexes alike. Small, highly gregarious sparrow. Flight fast and agile, allowing both individual speed and group maneuverability; action as reminiscent of other sparrows. Call: Chirping notes like House Sparrow's but more musical. Status & Distribution: Common Resident. Three races occur within the Indian boundaries. P. m. malaccensis Dubois occurs in

the Lower Himalayas from western Nepal and probably Nainital, east through Darjeeling, Sikkim; Assam the Cachar, Khasi and Garo hills. The P. m. tibetanus Baker occurs in North Nepal, North Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and in winter, descends to valleys down to 2800m. The P. m. hepaticus Ripley is found in Lower Arunachal Pradesh foothills and plains of Lakhimpur and Dibrugarh south to Manipur. Habitat: Affects villages and fields

Sind Sparrow (Male) Passer pyrrhonotus; copyright Mike Prince; February 2003; Harike, Punjab

Sind Sparrow (Male) Passer pyrrhonotus; copyright Mike Prince; February 2003; Harike, Punjab

Monotypic Size: 12 cm (5in) Description: Male, Very Similiar to House Sparrow but smaller; black restricted to chin and throat, not extending to breast. rest of underparts pale ashy. Female, not distinguishable from House Sparrow.

Call: Call very like House Sparrow but much clearer and purer.

Status & Distribution: Local, breeding near-endemic restricted range species. common but very locally distributed. The range is Indus Valley extending into Punjab and recently colonising Haryana.

Habitat: Essentially a riverine sparrow: affects tamarisk and acacia jungle mixed with tall grass along rivers and around jheels and swamps; also Capprias and Salvadora bushes and jungle in semi desert but in the neighbourhood of water.

Russet Sparrows Passer rutilans copyright Mike Kilburn of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society; 2004

Russet Sparrows Passer rutilans copyright Mike Kilburn of the Hong Kong Bird Watching Society; 2004

Polytypic Local Names: Lal Gouriya (Hindi); Pichi (Dafla) Size: 15 cm (6 in) Description: Male, Unmistakable, with rufous-chestnut crown and upperparts, dingy pale

Call: Call Chilp...chip similar to House Sparrow but softer and more musical

Status & Distribution: P. r. cinnamomeus (Gould) Common resident, subject to vertical movements. The Himalayas, from Chitral to Kashmir Valley, east through Arunachal Pradesh. P. r. intensior Nagaland, Manipur, Cachar, Khasi and Mizo hills. It is distributed between 2400m to 500m.

Habitat: Affects light forests of Oak, Rhododendron, Alder etc. terraced cultivation in vicinity of villages. In winter seen in barley fields. It replaces the House Sparrow at places.

References and selected bibliography

[1] Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan; Salim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley; Oxford University Press; 1972.

[2] Birds of the Indian Subcontinent; Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp & Tim Inskipp; Christopher Helm; 1998.

[3] A Field Guide to the Birds of the Indian Subcontinent; Krys Kazmierczak & Ber van Perlo; Pica Press; 2000.

[4] Field Guide to the Birds of the eastern Himalayas; Salim Ali; Oxford University Press; 1977.

[5] A Field Guide to the Birds of South-East Asia; Craig Robson; New Holland; 2002.

[6] A Photographic Guide to the Birds of India; Grewal, Harvey and Pfister; Periplus 2002

[7] The Complete Guide to the Birds of the Western Palearctic on CD Rom; Oxford.

Acknowlegements

The author is indebted to Mike Prince, Sumit K Sen and Mike Kilburn for their contribution and assistance.

Sujan Chatterjee
Kolkata, India
www.kolkatabirds.com
January 2004

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