Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Dead Sea sparrow

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Kingdom
  
Order
  
Passeriformes

Infraorder
  
Passerida

Scientific name
  
Passer moabiticus

Rank
  
Species

Phylum
  
Chordata

Suborder
  
Passeri

Superfamily
  
Passeroidea

Higher classification
  
Old world sparrows

Dead Sea sparrow wwwkuwaitbirdsorgsitesdefaultfilesstyleslar

Similar
  
Bird, Sparrow, Old world sparrows, Pale rockfinch, Sind sparrow

The Dead Sea sparrow (Passer moabiticus) is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, with one subspecies breeding in parts of the Middle East and another in western Afghanistan and eastern Iran. The eastern subspecies P. m. yatii is sometimes considered a separate species Yate's sparrow.

Contents

Dead Sea sparrow Dead Sea sparrow Wikipedia

Dead sea sparrow funeral


Description

It is a small 12–13 cm long sparrow.

Dead Sea sparrow Dead Sea Sparrow deadseasparrowjpg 800577 Old World

The male Dead Sea sparrow has a grey crown, rear neck and cheeks, and a small black bib. It has a pale supercilium shading to buff at the rear, and yellow neck sides. The upperparts are dark-streaked reddish brown, and the underparts are grey-white.

Dead Sea sparrow Birds of Israel Passeriformes Dead Sea Sparrow

The female is like a small house sparrow, with a streaked brown back, greyish head and buff-white underparts. She is paler and smaller billed than the house sparrow, and sometimes shows yellow on the neck sides.

The eastern race P. m. yatii is sandier, and the male has a yellow wash to the underparts.

Dead Sea sparrow Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus ssp mesopotamicus photo

The chirping song resembles those of house and Spanish sparrows, but is softer. The flight call is a high-pitched chi-wit. This species is often silent.

Distribution and habitat

Dead Sea sparrow Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus ssp mesopotamicus photo

As its name suggests, is a breeding bird around the River Jordan, Dead Sea, and into Iraq, Iran and western Afghanistan. Breeding recorded in Cyprus in the 1980s but it may be extinct there now. This species is migratory or dispersive away from its breeding season. The eastern subspecies wintering in western Pakistan, but the regular wintering grounds of the western subspecies are largely unknown. Flocks of the nominate western race have been found in winter further south in the Middle East.

Behaviour

Dead Sea sparrow Mangoverde World Bird Guide Photo Page Dead Sea Sparrow Passer

This species feeds principally on seeds, like other sparrows. It breeds in dry lowlands with some shrubs, including tamarisk, and access to water. It builds a nest in a tree, and four to seven eggs are laid.

References

Dead Sea sparrow Wikipedia