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The Sparrows in India

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Sparrows in India: A Note on Identification

Suresh C. Sharma and Dr. Gurpartap Singh

The sparrows don’t need any special introduction as they, especially the House
Sparrows, are an inseparable part of our lives. As per the scientific classification, the
Sparrows belong to the Passeridae family of small passerine birds. When we
mention the word ‘sparrow’, the first picture that comes to our mind is that of the
House Sparrow, the most common and widely distributed sparrow in India. However,
other sparrows are less common and come less in contact with human beings as
compared to the House Sparrow. Certain other birds from the families like
Emberizidae and Estrildidae also share the name ‘sparrow’. However, the present
discussion is limited only to the sparrows from the Passeridae family, the so-called
true sparrows or Old World sparrows.

Five species of sparrows are found in India, namely, the House Sparrow, Sind
Sparrow, Russet Sparrow, the Eurasian Tree Sparrow and the Spanish Sparrow.
The first four are local breeders and the last one is a winter migrant. However, the
race ‘bactrianus’ of House Sparrow breeds outside India and may be seen only in
the winters). The scope of the present discussion is limited to focus on the
identification. Aspects like the physical features, voice, habitat, distribution, diet etc.
are discussed from the point of view of correct identification.

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Size: length 15-16 cm

Description: Male − grey crown and rump; bill is black in breeding season, otherwise
horn; black lores and around eye; chestnut sides of crown behind eye, sides of the
neck and upper back; back is rufous-chestnut brown with black streaks; white ear
coverts and sides of throat; has a small white stripe between the lores and crown
and small white spots immediately behind the eyes (may be less prominent in
immature or moulting birds); black center of throat and breast; rest of the underparts
are greyish white; the crown becomes grey-brown and the black of the throat and the
breast becomes fringed with whitish during winters. Female − dull greyish-brown
streaked above; streaked fulvuous and dark brown on the back; has a pale
supercilium; plain, brownish white below.

Voice: noisy chirping

Habitat: More likely to be found near human habitats, but avoids high-density built-up
areas, especially if the structures are tall with absence of ledges and vegetation. It is
also known to avoid areas with closed or dense vegetation like forests, plantations,
large thickets and reed beds. May venture into cornfields and on other crops for
seasonal foraging but usually avoids open areas without any shrubs, tree, or other
cover. Also shows little attraction to either fresh water or sea coasts. Widespread
distribution points towards indifference to climatic constraints.

Breeding Season: Usual breeding season is from mid February to mid October.
Distribution: There are three subspecies of House
Sparrow found in the country. The most common is the
P. d. indicus, found all over the Indian mainland and
also introduced in Andaman Islands. It is known to
make local movements. The P. d. parkini is found in
the Himalayas from Kashmir and Ladakh to Sikkim. It
breeds mostly above 2000m to about 4500m. The third
subspecies, P. d. bactrianus breeds in Kazakhstan
and is migratory. It has been recorded in small numbers
in Rajasthan.

House Sparrow female, Vijay Kumar Sethi


Sethi, Gurgaon House Sparrow male, Viresh Bhushan,
Bhushan Sirsa
(Haryana), February 2016 (Haryana), March 2016

House Sparrow female, Mathew Thekkethala, Ponnani House Sparrow male non-breeding,
breeding, Mridul Anand,
(Kerala), November 2016 Khekri Majra (Haryana), November 2016
Sind Sparrow (Passer
Passer pyrrhonotus
pyrrhonotus)

Sind Jungle Sparrow or simply Sind Sparrow is monotypic,, that is, only one of its
type. At about 12 cm, it is smaller in size in comparison to the House Sparrow.
Sparrow

Description: Male − Very ssimiliar to the House Sparrow but smaller with finer bill;
pale grey crown and nape; sides of crown and head are deep
deep-chestnut
chestnut red, chestnut
of head is reduced to broad crescent surrounding ear
ear-coverts;
coverts; also has grey cheeks;
cheeks
black chin and throat with no black on the breast; chestnut in upperparts including
rump and mantle; back and scapulars heavily streaked black; in non-breeding
plumage, the patterning
atterning is only slightly obscured by buff fringes;
fringes rest of the
underparts are pale ashy
ashy; Female − Not very distinguishable from the House
Sparrow but has bolder supercilium, grey cheeks, buff underparts and lesser wing
coverts.

Sind Sparrow female, Sanjeev K Goyal, Dighal Sind Sparrow male, Sharan Lally, Mohali
(Haryana), April, 2016 (Punjab), November, 2016

Call: Call sounds similar to the House Sparrow but much clearer and purer.

Habitat: Sind Sparrow is essentially a riverine sparrow; has been observed to prefer
tamarisk and acacia trees and tall grass along rivers/canals and around water-bodies
water
and swamps; may also roost in thickets and mixed scrub but in the neighbourhood of
water.
Distribution: It is found in Pakistan, in southeast of Iran
and mainly the north-western
western India, where it is presently
found in large parts of Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and in
a smaller area of western Uttar Pradesh. An unconfirmed
sighting has been reported from Gujarat. A sighting in
Kalatop
Kalatop-Khajjiar Wildlife Sanctuary, District Chamba,
Himachal Pradesh, has been published iin n January 2016.

Russet Sparrow (Passer


Passer rutilans
rutilans)

Size: 15 cm

Description: Male − Rufouss-chestnut crown and upperparts, streaked black on back,


variable yellowish wash on he head sides and underparts, black chin and centre of
throat, prominent white wing
wing-bar, breast and flanks faint greyish,, head and mantle
coloration only slightly obscured in non
non-breeding plumage.. Female − Brown above,
streaked
treaked with dark brown on back, conspicuous pale whitish supercilium,
supercilium white wing-
bar,, dull ashy yellow below.

Russet Sparrow, Sumit Sengupta, Okhrey (Sikkim), Russet Sparrow male, Ravinder Garga, Sattal
March 2016 (Uttarkhand), November 2016

Call: Chirping notes similar to House Sparrow but more musical and softer.
Habitat: Prefers light forests
forests, edges of forests and cultivation near the villages. In
winters, it is also seen in the barley fields and replaces
places the House Sparrow at places.

Distribution: P. r. cinnamomeus is a common resident,


subject to vertical movements between 1200 to 2600m in
the
he Himalayas, from Chitral to Kashmir Valley, east
through Arunachal Pradesh. Has established
stablished as a
breeding resident in hilly areas of Morni/Kalka in
Haryana, P. r. intensior is distributed between 2400m to
5000m in Nagaland, Manipur, Cachar, Khasi and Mizo Miz
hills.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer


Passer montanus
montanus)

Size: At 13 cm,, smaller in comparison to the House Sparrow, with proportionately


smaller bill and head.

Description: Black
lack patches on white ear coverts; small, black throat patch not
extending onto breast; sides of head whitewhite; upperparts, crown and nape chocolate-
chocolate
brown; chestnut nape separated from brown brown-streaked
streaked mantle by a white collar; rest
of the upperparts brown strestreaked with black on back; two well-defined
defined wing bars;
rest of the underparts, greyish
yish whitish. Sexes not markedly different, but females are
slightly paler,, have slightly smaller throat and ear-covert
covert patches,
patches and have buff-
washed flanks. Races show some minor variations.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow,, Sumit K Sen, Aizawl


(Mizoram), February 2005

Call: Chirping notes like House Sparrow's but more musical.

Habitat: Found in villages and fields


Distribution: A common resident, having three races in
India. P. m. malaccensis is found in the Lower Himalayas
from Eastern Uttarakhand and Western estern Nepal, east
through Darjeeling, Sikkim, Cachar hills (Assam), Khasi
and Garo hills. There has been a recent sighting in
Bharatpur (still to be confirmed
irmed by the experts).
experts So, the
birders from Haryana/Delhi should remain alert for its
sighting
sighting. The P. m. tibetanus is found in North Nepal,
North Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh,
Pradesh descending to
valleys down to 2800m in the winters. The P. m. hepaticus
is found in Lower Arunachal Pradesh, foothills and plains of Lakhimpur and
Dibrugarh in Assam and south to Manipur. Small populations found in the Eastern
Ghats and Bangladesh.

Spanish Sparrow (Passer


Passer hispaniolensis
hispaniolensis)

Size: 15 cm

Description: Male − Upperparts, crown and nape chestnut;; white supercilium; black
eye stripe; whitish streaks on black back; pale brown wings; cheeks white; throat and
breast black; black on the breast more extensive on sides; rest est of the underparts
whitish, streaked with black on belly and the flanks; streaking distinguishes the
males from the House Sparrow; non-breeding
breeding plumage is duller, with head and body
patterning partially obscured by pale fringes. Female − similar to House sparrow but
with marked supercilium and lightly streaked underparts
underparts.

Spanish Sparrow female, Rajesh Kalra


Kalra, Spanish Sparrow male, Sunil Singhal,
Singhal Kota
River Yamuna, Delhi, March 2014 (Rajasthan), January 2013
Call: Generally very similar to House Sparrow, but fuller and louder, with more
metallic and squeaky notes.

Habitat: Arable cultivation, especially cereal crops, semi-desert, marshes and reed
beds. Wherever the House Sparrow is locally absent, seasonally occupies the
normal urban niche of that species. In India, it comes for wintering and is found in
large flocks, both in cultivated and semi-desert areas.

Distribution: Winter visitor and locally abundant and


passage migrant. The plains of Punjab and Haryana;
south to north-eastern Rajasthan.

Bibliography

[1] J. Denis Summers-Smith (1988) The Sparrows: A Study of the Genus Passer.
London: A & C Black Publishers Ltd.

[2] Richard Grimmett, Carol Inskipp & Tim Inskipp (1999) Birds of Indian
Subcontinent. London: Christopher Helm.

[3] Bill Harvey & Suresh C Sharma (2002) The initial colonisation of the Yamuna
floodplain by the Sind Sparrow Passer pyrrhonotus. Journal of Bombay Natural
History Society, 99: 35-43.

[4] Ted R. Anderson (2006) Biology of the Ubiquitous House Sparrow: From Genes
to Populations. New York: Oxford University Press.

[5] Salim Ali (2012) The Book of Indian Birds. Mumbai: Bombay Natural History
Society and Oxford University Press.

[6] Norman Arlott (2014) Birds of India. London: William Collins.

[7] Bikram Grewal, Sumit Sen, Sarwandeep Singh, Nikhil Devasar & Garima Bhatia
(2016) A Pictorial Field Guide to Birds of India. New Delhi: Om Books.

________
3.12.2016

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