Sparrow 63572 226113075 2008-07-16T21:43:09Z Ka Faraq Gatri 6892069 /* Sparrows in literature */ Repairing link to disambiguation page - [[Wikipedia:Disambiguation pages with links|You can help!]] {{otheruses}} {{Taxobox | name = Old World sparrows | image = House_sparrowIII.jpg | image_width = 250px | image_caption = [[House Sparrow]] | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[Bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[Passerine|Passeriformes]] | subordo = [[Passeri]] | familia = '''Passeridae''' | familia_authority = [[Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger|Illiger]], 1811 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = ''[[Passer]]''<br> ''[[Petronia]]''<br> ''[[Carpospiza]]''<br> ''[[snowfinch|Montifringilla]]'' }} The "true sparrows", the [[Old World]] '''sparrows''' in the family '''Passeridae''', are small [[passerine]] [[bird]]s. Generally, sparrows tend to be small, plump brown-grey birds with short tails and stubby yet powerful [[beak]]s. The differences between sparrow species can be subtle. They are primarily [[seed|seed-eaters]], though they also consume small [[insect]]s. A few species scavenge for food around cities and, like [[gull]]s or [[Rock Pigeon|pigeons]], will happily eat virtually anything in small quantities. This family ranges in size from the [[Chestnut Sparrow]] (''Passer eminibey''), at 11.4 cm (4.5 inches) and 13.4 g., to the [[Parrot-billed Sparrow]] (''Passer gongonensis''), at 18 cm (7 inches) and 42 g. (1.5 oz). Sparrows are physically similar to other seed-eating birds, such as [[finch]]es, but have a vestigial dorsal outer [[primary feather]] and an extra bone in the tongue.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Bledsoe, A.H. & Payne, R.B.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 222|isbn= 1-85391-186-0}}</ref> The Old World true sparrows are found indigenously in [[Europe]], [[Africa]] and [[Asia]]. In [[Australia]] and [[the Americas]], early settlers imported some species which quickly naturalised, particularly in urban and degraded areas. [[House Sparrow]]s, for example, are now found throughout [[North America]], in every state of Australia except [[Western Australia]], and over much of the heavily populated parts of [[South America]]. Some authorities also classify the closely related [[estrildid finch]]es of the equatorial regions and [[Australasia]] as members of the Passeridae. Like the true sparrows, the estrildid finches are small, gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short, thick, but pointed bills. They are broadly similar in structure and habits, but tend to be very colourful and vary greatly in their [[plumage]]. About 140 species are native to the old world [[tropics]] and Australasia. Most [[taxonomy|taxonomic]] schemes list the estrildid finches as the separate family Estrildidae, leaving just the true sparrows in Passeridae. [[American sparrow]]s, or [[New World]] sparrows, are not closely related to the true sparrows, despite some physical resemblance, such as the seed-eater's bill and frequently well-marked heads. They are in the family [[Emberizidae]]. The Hedge Sparrow or [[Dunnock]] (''Prunella modularis'') is similarly unrelated. It is a sparrow in name only, a relic of the old practice of calling ''any'' small bird a "sparrow". [[Image:Sparrowchick.JPG|thumb|Italian Sparrow chick]] There are 35 species of Old World sparrows. Below is the full list. == Species list in taxonomic order== [[Image:Sparrow (1).JPG|thumb|200px|right|A drawing of a sparrow.]] This is a list of sparrow [[species (biology)|species]], presented in [[taxonomic order]]. *''[[Passer]]'', the true sparrows **[[Saxaul Sparrow]], ''Passer ammodendri'' **[[House Sparrow]], ''Passer domesticus'' **[[Spanish Sparrow]], ''Passer hispaniolensis'' **[[Sind Sparrow]], ''Passer pyrrhonotus'' **[[Somali Sparrow]], ''Passer castanopterus'' **[[Cinnamon Sparrow]] or Russet Sparrow, ''Passer rutilans'' **[[Pegu Sparrow]] or Plain-backed Sparrow, ''Passer flaveolus'' **[[Dead Sea Sparrow]], ''Passer moabiticus'' **[[Rufous Sparrow]], ''Passer motitensis'' **[[Socotra Sparrow]], ''Passer insularis'' **[[Iago Sparrow]] or Cape Verde Sparrow, ''Passer iagoensis'' **[[Cape Sparrow]] or Mossie, ''Passer melanurus'' **[[Grey-headed Sparrow]], ''Passer griseus'' **[[Swainson's Sparrow]], ''Passer swainsonii'' **[[Parrot-billed Sparrow]], ''Passer gongonensis'' **[[Swahili Sparrow]], ''Passer suahelicus'' **[[Southern Grey-headed Sparrow]], ''Passer diffusus'' **[[Desert Sparrow]], ''Passer simplex'' **[[Tree Sparrow]], ''Passer montanus'' **[[Sudan Golden Sparrow]], ''Passer luteus'' **[[Arabian Golden Sparrow]], ''Passer euchlorus'' **[[Chestnut Sparrow]], ''Passer eminibey'' **[[Italian Sparrow]], ''Passer italiae'' **[[Kenya Rufous Sparrow]], ''Passer rufocinctus'' **[[Kordofan Rufous Sparrow]], ''Passer cordofanicus'' **[[Shelley's Rufous Sparrow]], ''Passer shelleyi'' **[[Asian Desert Sparrow]], ''Passer zarudnyi'' *''[[Petronia]]'', the rock sparrows **[[Yellow-spotted Petronia]], ''Petronia pyrgita'' **[[Chestnut-shouldered Petronia]], ''Petronia xanthocollis'' **[[Yellow-throated Petronia]], ''Petronia superciliaris'' **[[Bush Petronia]], ''Petronia dentata'' **[[Rock Sparrow]], ''Petronia petronia'' *''Carpospiza'', Pale Rockfinch **[[Pale Rockfinch]], ''Carpospiza brachydactyla'' *''[[snowfinch|Montifringilla]]'', the [[snowfinch]]es **[[White-winged Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla nivalis'' **[[Black-winged Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla adamsi'' **[[White-rumped Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla taczanowskii'' **[[Père David's Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla davidiana'' **[[Rufous-necked Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla ruficollis'' **[[Blanford's Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla blanfordi'' **[[Afghan Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla theresae'' **[[Tibetan Snowfinch]], ''Montifringilla henrici'' ==Sparrows in literature== References to Old World sparrows in literature usually refer to the [[House Sparrow]]. [[Image:Huang Zhucai, Mountain Magpie, Sparrows and Bramble.jpg|160px|right|thumb|''Mountain Magpie, Sparrows and Bramble'', by Chinese artist Huang Zhucai (933&ndash;after 993), [[Song Dynasty]].]] *The Greek poet [[Sappho]], in her "Hymn to [[Aphrodite]]", pictures the goddess's chariot as drawn by sparrows. *The [[Latin poetry|Roman poet]] [[Catullus]] addresses one of his [[ode]]s to his lover [[Lesbia]]'s pet sparrow ([[Catullus 2|‘''Passer, deliciae meae puellae...''’]]), and writes an [[elegy]] on its death ([[Catullus 3|‘''Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque...''’]]). The sparrow's playful erotic intimacy with its mistress ('To whose seeking she often gives her first finger/And provokes sharp pecks') makes the poet envious. At the climax of its elegy he reproaches it for dying, and distressing her ('Now, by your deeds, my girl's/Little eyes are slightly swollen and red from weeping'). The diminutiveness of the sparrow, and the hugeness and eternity of the [[Hades|afterlife]], form a [[bathos]] that is typical of the mock elegy form: ‘''qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum''/''illuc unde negant redire quemquam''’ ('He now goes on a journey through that gloomy place,/From where they say no one returns'). The sparrow's hopping is represented metrically. *In the [[New Testament]], [[Jesus]] reassures his followers that not even a sparrow can fall without God's notice, and that their own more significant [[suffering]] is certainly seen and potentially forestalled or redeemed by God. ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 12:6; [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] 10:29.) * The Venerable [[Bede]]'s (8th c.)"sparrow in the hall" episode describes the moment of transition between [[Anglo-Saxon]] pagan and Christian eras. ''Ecclesiastical History of the English Church And People'' *In ''Phyllyp Sparowe'' (pub. c. [[16th century in literature|1505]]), by the [[English poetry|English poet]] [[John Skelton]], Jane Scrope's laments for her dead sparrow are mixed with [[antiphonary|antiphonal]] [[Latin]] [[liturgy]] from the [[Office of the Dead]]. It belongs to the same tradition as Catullus' poem, or [[Ovid]]'s lament for a [[parrot]] in the ''[[Amores]]'': 'And on me it wolde lepe/Whan I was aslepe,/And his fethers shake,/Wherewith he wolde make/Me often for to wake/And for to take him in/Upon my naked skyn'. *In the ''[[Redwall]]'' series of fantasy novels, sparrows are somewhat important to the plot. They are portrayed as fierce fighters; the main sparrow character is Warbeak. * ''[[Hamlet]]'', by [[William Shakespeare]], as Hamlet faces his tragic fate. he says, " There's a special providence in the fall of a sparrow", presumably referencing the New Testament quote shown above. * The [[Tamil people|Tamil]] poet [[Subramania Bharati]] praises sparrow as a symbol of freedom. *[[Masaoka Shiki]]`s [[haiku]]: "The sparrow hops along the veranda, with wet feet." ==References== {{Refimprove|date=June 2008}} {{reflist}} * Clement, Harris and Davis, ''Finches and Sparrows'' ISBN 0-7136-8017-2 (hardcover) ISBN 0-7136-5203-9 (paperback) ==External links== {{wiktionary}} {{commonscat|Passeridae}} *[http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/familia.phtml?idFamilia=190 Old World sparrow videos] on the Internet Bird Collection [[Category:Passeridae|*]] [[Category:Bird families]] [[bg:Врабчови]] [[ca:Passeridae]] [[da:Spurve]] [[de:Sperlinge]] [[es:Passeridae]] [[eo:Paseredoj]] [[fr:Moineau]] [[he:דרוריים]] [[hr:Vrapci]] [[it:Passeridae]] [[kw:Golvan]] [[sw:Shomoro]] [[lt:Žvirbliniai]] [[hu:Verébfélék]] [[nl:Mussen en sneeuwvinken]] [[ja:スズメ亜科 (Sibley)]] [[no:Spurvefamilien]] [[pl:Wróble]] [[pt:Passeridae]] [[ru:Воробьиные]] [[fi:Varpuset]] [[sv:Sparvfinkar]] [[ta:குருவி]] [[th:นกกระจอก]] [[tr:Serçe]]