Sparrows
Order: Passeriformes. Family: Passeridae
Sparrows are small passerine birds. In general, sparrows tend to be small plump brownish or greyish birds with short tails and short powerful beaks. They are monogamous and build conspicuous nests. Sparrows are granivorous, but also consume small insects. There are 35 species worldwide, six in Southern Africa.
- House Sparrow Passer domesticus introduced
- Great Sparrow Passer motitensis near-endemic
- Cape Sparrow Passer melanurus near-endemic
- Southern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer diffusus
- Northern Grey-headed Sparrow Passer griseus
- Yellow-throated Petronia Petronia superciliaris
Read more about this topic: List Of Southern African Birds
Famous quotes containing the word sparrows:
“The wild beasts, sparrows pecking the llamas’ grain,
Pigeons settling on the bears’ bread, buzzards
Tearing the meat the flies have clouded. . . .”
—Randall Jarrell (1914–1965)
“It seemed as if the breezes brought him,
It seemed as if the sparrows taught him,
As if by secret sign he knew
Where in far fields the orchids grew.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“How coyote got his
ratty old fur coat
bits of old fur
the sparrows stuck on him
with dabs of pitch.
That was after he lost his proud original one in a poker game.”
—Leslie Marmon Silko (b. 1948)