Sparrow
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/* 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–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]]
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[[ca:Passeridae]]
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[[hr:Vrapci]]
[[it:Passeridae]]
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[[hu:Verébfélék]]
[[nl:Mussen en sneeuwvinken]]
[[ja:スズメ亜科 (Sibley)]]
[[no:Spurvefamilien]]
[[pl:Wróble]]
[[pt:Passeridae]]
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