Species Saxaul Sparrow

Saxaul Sparrow

The saxaul sparrow (Passer ammodendri) is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in parts of Central Asia. At 14–16 centimetres (5.5–6.3 in) and 25–32 grams (0.88–1.13 oz), it is among the larger sparrows. Both sexes have plumage ranging from dull grey to sandy brown, and pale brown legs. Females have less boldly coloured plumage and bills, lacking the pattern of black stripes on the male's head. The head markings of both sexes make the saxaul sparrow distinctive, and unlikely to be confused with any other bird. Vocalisations include a comparatively soft and musical chirping call, a song, and a flight call.

Three subspecies are recognised, differing in the overall tone of their plumage and in the head striping of the female. The subspecies ammodendri occurs in the west of the saxaul sparrow's range, while stoliczkae and nigricans occur in the east. This distribution falls into six probably disjunct areas across Central Asia, from central Turkmenistan to northern Gansu in China. A bird of deserts, the saxaul sparrow favours areas with shrubs such as the saxaul, near rivers and oases. Though it has lost parts of its range to habitat destruction caused by agriculture, it is not seriously threatened by human activities.

Little is known of the saxaul sparrow's behaviour. Often hidden in foliage, it forages in trees and on the ground. It feeds mostly on seeds, as well as insects while breeding and as a nestling. When not breeding it forms wandering flocks, but it is less social than other sparrows while breeding, often nesting in isolated pairs. Nests are round bundles of dry plant material lined with soft materials such as feathers. They are built in holes in tree cavities, earth banks, rocky slopes, and within man-made structures or the nests of birds of prey. Two clutches of five or six eggs are typically laid in a season. Both parents construct the nest and care for their eggs and young.

The saxaul sparrow is one of the larger sparrows at 14–16 centimetres (5.5–6.3 in) and 25–32 grams (0.88–1.13 oz). Wing length varies from 7.1 to 8.1 centimetres (2.8 to 3.2 in), with males generally being larger. The tail is short at 6.3–6.95 centimetres (2.48–2.74 in). The saxaul sparrow's legs are pale or pinkish brown, with a tarsus length of 1.95 inches (50 mm). Its bill is 1.0–1.3 centimetres (0.39–0.51 in) long, pale grey on the juvenile, pale yellowish with a black tip on the breeding female, and black on the breeding male. Like all other sparrows, it flies swiftly and often at height.

The female is similar in some ways to the male, but paler and duller. It is sandy grey or brown, with a back patterned like that of the male, and white or whitish underparts. The head of the females of the subspecies ammodendri and nigricans is dingy grey with darker smudges on the forehead, behind its eyes, and on its throat.

The female of the subspecies stoliczkae is buff-brown with a white throat, a conspicuous pale supercilium, darker forehead, and lighter cheeks.[3] The juvenile is similar to the female, differing in its lack of dark tinges on its throat and crown.[3] In adults, moulting begins in July and ends in late August or early September. The post-juvenile moult is complete, and occurs variously from June to August.

The saxaul sparrow was first described by English zoologist John Gould in a March 1872 instalment of The Birds of Asia, from a specimen collected near Kyzylorda, now in southern Kazakhstan, by Russian naturalist Nikolai Severtzov. ] Severtzov had been planning to describe the species as Passer ammodendri for several years and had been distributing specimens among other naturalists. When natural history dealer Charles Dode escaped from the Paris Commune in 1871 with some of his collection, Gould obtained specimens from a set of rare birds Dode exhibited to the Zoological Society of London. Severtzov did not describe the species until 1873, and some later writers preferred to attribute him, but Gould's description takes priority over Severtzov's.

The saxaul sparrow's species name refers to its desert habitat, coming from the name of the Ammodendron or sand acacia tree, which is in turn derived from the Ancient Greek άμμος (ammos, "sand") and δένδρον (dendron, "tree"). The English name saxaul sparrow refers to the saxaul plant, with which it is closely associated. The saxaul sparrow usually is classified in the genus Passer with the house sparrow and around twenty other species, although a genus Ammopasser was created for the saxaul sparrow by Nikolai Zarudny in 1890.