Passer
Genus of birds
title: "Passer" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["passer", "passeridae", "bird-genera"] description: "Genus of birds" topic_path: "general/passer" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passer" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Genus of birds ::
::callout[type=note] the sparrow genus ::
| image = Passer melanurus (2 males).jpg | image_caption = Male Cape sparrows in Namibia | taxon= Passer | authority = Brisson, 1760 | type_species = Fringilla domestica | type_species_authority = Linnaeus, 1758 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = See text. | synonyms =
- Pyrgita Cuvier, 1817
- Corospiza Bonaparte, 1850
- Auripasser Bonaparte, 1851
- Sorella Hartlaub, 1880
- Ammopasser Zarudny, 1880
Passer is a genus of sparrows, also known as the true sparrows. The genus contains 28 species and includes the house sparrow and the Eurasian tree sparrow, two of the most common birds in the world. They are small birds with thick bills for eating seeds, and are mostly coloured grey or brown. Native to the Old World, some species have been introduced throughout the world.
Taxonomy
The genus Passer was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. The type species was subsequently designated as the house sparrow (Passer domesticus). The name Passer is the Latin word for "sparrow."
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Passer_montanus_Baikonur_001.jpg" caption="A mixed group of ''Passer'' sparrows containing a [[Eurasian tree sparrow]], a male [[house sparrow]], and female house or [[Spanish sparrow]]s, feeding on grain in the town of [[Baikonur]], Kazakhstan"] ::
Species
The genus contains 28 species: ::data[format=table]
| Image | Common name | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| [[File:Cape Sparrow, Passer melanurus at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, Johannesburg, South Africa (14727921265).jpg | 120px]] | Cape sparrow | Passer melanurus |
| [[File:Kambi ya Tembo, Tanzania 2nd. September 2012 CF2P1407 - Flickr - Lip Kee.jpg | 120px]] | Chestnut sparrow | Passer eminibey |
| Kordofan sparrow | Passer cordofanicus | South Sudan and Chad | |
| [[File:Shelley's Rufous Sparrow - 27-08-06 Murchison Falls - Uganda NP Uganda 06 5442 (28909858907).jpg | 120px]] | Shelley's sparrow | Passer shelleyi |
| [[File:Passer rufocinctus -Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya-8.jpg | 120px]] | Kenya sparrow | Passer rufocinctus |
| [[File:Great Sparrow (or Southern Rufous Sparrow or Rufous Sparrow), Passer motitensis at Marakele National Park, South Africa (7796691488).jpg | 120px]] | Great sparrow | Passer motitensis |
| [[File:Northern grey-headed sparrow (Passer griseus ugandae).jpg | 120px]] | Northern grey-headed sparrow | Passer griseus |
| [[File:Swainson's sparrow (Passer swainsonii).jpg | 120px]] | Swainson's sparrow | Passer swainsonii |
| [[File:Swahili Sparrow - Tanzania 0180 (22408201137).jpg | 120px]] | Swahili sparrow | Passer suahelicus |
| [[File:Passer gongonensis Amboseli 1.jpg | 120px]] | Parrot-billed sparrow | Passer gongonensis |
| [[File:Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer diffusus).jpg | 120px]] | Southern grey-headed sparrow | Passer diffusus |
| [[File:Sind Sparrow (Passer pyrrhonotus)- Male at Sultanpur I Picture 178.jpg | 120px]] | Sind sparrow | Passer pyrrhonotus |
| [[File:Russet Sparrow (Male) I IMG 6779-crop.jpg | 120x120px]] | Russet sparrow | Passer cinnamomeus |
| [[File:Tree-Sparrow.jpg | 119x119px]] | Eurasian tree sparrow | Passer montanus |
| [[File:Saxaul Sparrow - Almaty - Kazakistan S4E1781 (22800579836).jpg | 120px]] | Saxaul sparrow | Passer ammodendri |
| [[File:Plain-backed Sparrow Passer flaveolus (8080163397).jpg | 120px]] | Plain-backed sparrow | Passer flaveolus |
| [[File:Passer hemileucus.jpg | 120px]] | Abd al-Kuri sparrow | Passer hemileucus |
| [[File:Passer insularis Smit.jpg | 120px]] | Socotra sparrow | Passer insularis |
| [[File:Passer Hispaniolensis Male.JPG | 120px]] | Spanish sparrow | Passer hispaniolensis |
| [[File:Passer italiae 3 (loz).jpg | 120px]] | Italian sparrow | Passer italiae |
| [[File:Passer domesticus male (15).jpg | 120px]] | House sparrow | Passer domesticus |
| [[File:Somali Sparrow specimen RWD.jpg | 120px]] | Somali sparrow | Passer castanopterus |
| [[File:Passer iagoensis male.jpg | 120px]] | Iago sparrow | Passer iagoensis |
| [[File:Desert Sparrow - Merzouga - Morocco 07 7156 (22203842844).jpg | 120px]] | Desert sparrow | Passer simplex |
| [[File:Passer zarudnyi Shyamal.svg | 120px]] | Zarudny's sparrow | Passer zarudnyi |
| [[File:PasserEuchlorus.svg | 120px]] | Arabian golden sparrow | Passer euchlorus |
| [[File:Sudan Golden Sparrow RWD4.jpg | 120px]] | Sudan golden sparrow | Passer luteus |
| [[File:Passer moabiticus.jpg | 120px]] | Dead Sea sparrow | Passer moabiticus |
| :: |
Besides these living species, there are questionable fossils from as long ago as the Early Miocene, and Passer predomesticus, from the Middle Pleistocene.
Description
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Great_Sparrow.jpg" caption="A [[great sparrow]] in [[Marakele National Park]], South Africa"] ::
These sparrows are plump little brown or greyish birds, often with black, yellow or white markings. Typically 10 – long, they range in size from the chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey), at 11.4 cm and 13.4 g, to the parrot-billed sparrow (Passer gongonensis), at 18 cm and 42 g. They have strong, stubby conical beaks with decurved culmens and blunter tips. All species have calls similar to the house sparrow's chirrup or tschilp call, and some, though not the house sparrow, have elaborate songs.
Distribution
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Passer_luteus_flock_Red_Sea_Sudan.jpg" caption="A flock of [[Sudan golden sparrow]]s near the Red Sea in Sudan"] ::
Most of its members are found naturally in open habitats in the warmer climates of Africa and southern Eurasia. Evolutionary studies suggest the genus originated in Africa. Several species have adapted to human habitation, and this has enabled the house sparrow in particular, in close association with humans, to extend its Eurasian range well beyond what was probably its original home in the Middle East. Apart from this natural colonisation, the house sparrow has been introduced to many parts of the world outside its natural range, including the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and Australia. The Eurasian tree sparrow has also been artificially introduced on a smaller scale, with populations in Australia and locally in Missouri and Illinois in the United States.
Behaviour
Passer sparrows build an untidy nest, which, depending on species and nest site availability, may be in a bush or tree, a natural hole in a tree, in a building or in thatch, or in the fabric of the nest of species such as the white stork. The clutch of up to eight eggs is incubated by both parents typically for 12–14 days, with another 14–24 more days to fledging.
Passer sparrows are primarily ground-feeding seed-eaters, though they also consume small insects especially when breeding. A few species, like the house sparrow and northern grey-headed sparrow scavenge for food around cities, and are almost omnivorous. Most Passer species are gregarious and will form substantial flocks.
References
;Works cited
References
- . ["Passeridae"](https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=189). *The Trust for Avian Systematics*.
- Brisson, Mathurin Jacques. (1760). "Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés". Jean-Baptiste Bauche.
- (1962). "Check-list of birds of the world". Museum of Comparative Zoology.
- Gray, George Robert. (1840). "A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus". R. and J.E. Taylor.
- Jobling, James A.. (2010). "The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names". Christopher Helm.
- (January 2021). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". International Ornithologists' Union.
- "Taxonomic Updates – IOC World Bird List".
- {{harvnb. Mlíkovský. 2002
- (1991). "Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds". Merehurst Press.
- Groschupf, Kathleen. (2001). "The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behaviour". Christopher Helm.
- Summers-Smith, J. D.. (1990). "Granivorous birds in the agricultural landscape". Pánstwowe Wydawnictom Naukowe.
- {{harvnb. Summers-Smith. 1988
- {{harvnb. Clement. Harris. Davis. 1993
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