Sparrow finch

 

Sparrow finch 

Sparrows are a family of small passerine birds, Passeridae. They are also known as true sparrows, or Old World sparrows, names also used for a particular genus of the family, Passer. They are distinct from both the American sparrows, in the family Emberizidae, and from a few other birds sharing their name, such as the Java sparrow of the family Estrildidae. Many species nest on buildings, and the house and Eurasian tree sparrows in particular inhabit cities in large numbers, so sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds. They are primarily seed-eaters, though they also consume small insects. Some species scavenge for food around cities and, like gulls or rock doves, will happily eat virtually anything in small quantities.

Description

Generally, sparrows are small, plump, brown-grey birds with short tails and stubby, powerful beaks. The differences between sparrow species can be subtle. Members of this family range in size from the chestnut sparrow (Passer eminibey), at 11.4 centimetres (4.5 in) and 13.4 grams (0.47 oz), to the parrot-billed sparrow (Passer gongonensis), at 18 centimetres (7.1 in) and 42 grams (1.5 oz). Sparrows are physically similar to other seed-eating birds, such as finches, but have a vestigial dorsal outer primary feather and an extra bone in the tongue. This bone, the preglossale, helps stiffen the tongue when holding seeds. Other adaptations towards eating seeds are specialised bills and elongated and specialised alimentary canals.

 

Taxonomy and systematics

Under the classification used in the Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW) main groupings of the sparrows are the true sparrows (genus Passer), the snowfinches (typically one genus, Montifringilla), and the rock sparrows (Petronia and the pale rockfinch). These groups are similar to each other, and are each fairly homogeneous, especially Passer. Some classifications also include the sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser) and several other African genera (otherwise classified among the weavers, Ploceidae) which are morphologically similar to Passer. According to a study of molecular and skeletal evidence by Jon Fjeldså and colleagues, the cinnamon ibon of the Philippines, previously considered to be a white-eye, is a sister taxon to the sparrows as defined by the HBW. They therefore classify it as its own subfamily within Passeridae.

 

Many early classifications of the sparrows placed them as close relatives of the weavers among the various families of small seed-eating birds, based on the similarity of their breeding behaviour, bill structure, and moult, among other characters. Some, starting with P. P. Suskin in the 1920s, placed the sparrows in the weaver family as the subfamily Passerinae, and tied them to Plocepasser. Another family sparrows were classed with was the finches (Fringillidae).

 

Some authorities previously classified the related estrildid finches of the Old World tropics and Australasia as members of the Passeridae. Like 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. The 2008 Christidis and Boles taxonomic scheme lists the estrildid finches as the separate family Estrildidae, leaving just the true sparrows in Passeridae.

 

Despite some resemblance such as the seed-eater's bill and frequently well-marked heads, American sparrows, or New World sparrows, are members of a different family, Emberizidae, which also includes the buntings. The hedge sparrow or dunnock (Prunella modularis) is similarly unrelated. It is a sparrow in name only, a relict of the old practice of calling more types of small birds "sparrows". A few further bird species are also called sparrows, such as the Java sparrow, an estrildid finch.

 

According to Luis Allende and colleagues, sparrows seem to have a parental species (Petronia petronia). They are not closely related to American sparrows or finches.

Distribution and habitat

The sparrows are indigenous to Europe, Africa and Asia. In the Americas, Australia, and other parts of the world, settlers imported some species which quickly naturalised, particularly in urban and degraded areas. House sparrows, for example, are now found throughout North America, in every state of Australia except Western Australia, parts of southern and eastern Africa, and over much of the heavily populated parts of South America.

 

The sparrows are generally birds of open habitats, including grasslands, deserts, and scrubland. The snowfinches and ground-sparrows are all species of high latitudes. A few species, like the Eurasian tree sparrow, inhabit open woodland. The aberrant cinnamon ibon has the most unusual habitat of the family, inhabiting the canopy of cloud forest in the Philippines.

 

Behaviour and ecology

Sparrows are generally social birds, with many species breeding in loose colonies and most species occurring in flocks during the non-breeding season. The great sparrow is an exception, breeding in solitary pairs and remaining only in small family groups in the non-breeding season. Most sparrows form large roosting aggregations in the non-breeding seasons that contain only a single species (in contrast to multi-species flocks that might gather for foraging). Sites are chosen for cover and include trees, thick bushes and reed beds. The assemblages can be quite large with up to 10,000 house sparrows counted in one roost in Egypt.

 

The sparrows are some of the few passerine birds that engage in dust bathing. Sparrows will first scratch a hole in the ground with their feet, then lie in it and fling dirt or sand over their bodies with flicks of their wings. They will also bathe in water, or in dry or melting snow. Water bathing is similar to dust bathing, with the sparrow standing in shallow water and flicking water over its back with its wings, also ducking its head under the water. Both activities are social, with up to a hundred birds participating at once, and is followed by preening and sometimes group singing.

 

Relationships with humans

Sparrows may be the most familiar of all wild birds worldwide. Many sparrow species commonly live in agricultural areas, and for several, human settlements are a primary habitat. The Eurasian tree and house sparrows are particularly specialised in living around humans and inhabit cities in large numbers. 17 of the 26 species recognised by the Handbook of the Birds of the World are known to nest on and feed around buildings.

 

Grain-eating species, in particular the house and Sudan golden sparrows, can be significant agricultural pests. Sparrows can be beneficial to humans as well, especially by eating insect pests. Attempts at the large-scale control of sparrows have failed to affect sparrow populations significantly, or have been accompanied by major increases in insect attacks probably resulting from a reduction of sparrows, as in the Great Sparrow Campaign in 1950s China.

 

Because of their familiarity, the house sparrow and other sparrows are frequently used to represent the common and vulgar, or the lewd. Birds usually described later as sparrows are referred to in many works of ancient literature and religious texts in Europe and western Asia. These references may not always refer specifically to sparrows, or even to small, seed-eating birds, but later writers who were inspired by these texts often had the house sparrow and other members of the family in mind. In particular, sparrows were associated by the ancient Greeks with Aphrodite, the goddess of love, due to their perceived lustfulness, an association echoed by later writers such as Chaucer and Shakespeare.

Jesus's use of "sparrows" as an example of divine providence in the Gospel of Matthew also inspired later references, such as that in Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Gospel hymn His Eye Is on the Sparrow.

Sparrows are represented in ancient Egyptian art very rarely, but an Egyptian hieroglyph is based on the house sparrow, the sparrow hieroglyph. The symbol had no phonetic value and was used as a determinative in words to indicate small, narrow, or bad.

 

Sparrows have been kept as pets at many times in history, even though they are not colourful and their songs are unremarkable. They are also difficult to keep, as pet sparrows must be raised by hand as nestlings, when considerable supplies of insects are required to feed them. Nevertheless, many are successful in hand raising orphaned or abandoned baby sparrows. Various internet forums are providing useful information on how to hand raise an injured or orphaned baby sparrow. The earliest mentions of pet sparrows are from the Romans. Not all the passeri mentioned, often as pets, in Roman literature were necessarily sparrows, but some accounts of them clearly describe their appearance and habits. The pet passer of Lesbia in Catullus's poems may not have been a sparrow, but a thrush or European goldfinch. John Skelton's The Boke of Phyllyp Sparowe is a lament for a pet house sparrow belonging to a Jane Scrope, narrated by Scrope.

The red browed finch

 
The red browed finch
The red-browed finch (Neochmia temporalis) is an estrildid finch that inhabits the east coast of Australia. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia. It is commonly found in temperate forest and dry savannah habitats. It may also be found in dry forest and mangrove habitats in tropical region.

The species is distinguished by the bright red stripe above the eye, and bright red rump. The rest of the body is grey, with olive wing coverts and collar. Juveniles do not have red brow marks, and lack olive colouration on the collar and wing coverts. The adults are 11–12 cm long.
 
Taxonomy
The red-browed finch is one of four species in the genus Neochmia. Alternate names include red-browed firetail.

There are three noted subspecies: the nominate species N. temporalis temporalis, in most of the east coast, and inland New South Wales and Victoria; N. temporalis minor, which is distinguished by a white breast, in northern Queensland, and south-east of Australia, and N. temporalis loftyi in the south west corner of South Australia, although the latter is sometimes not listed as a subspecies, as the differences between it and the type species are relatively minor.
 
Conservation status
The finch is common in the south east of its range, from Brisbane to Melbourne. Subspecies N. minor is common between Cooktown and Townsville. The species is listed as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List. There are no key threatening processes for N. temporalis, although the Pest Animal Control CRC suggests that the introduced nutmeg mannikin (Lonchura punctulata), which currently threatens some native mannikins through increased competition, may be a minor threat to N. lateralis in northern Queensland.

In regional areas the species needs adequate shrub density to provide cover and foraging places. The species has been noted to decline or even disappear in areas that have been cleared or grazed, especially in combination with drought.

Biology and ecology
The red-browed finch is highly sociable, and is usually seen in small flocks of 10 to 20 individuals. Flocks are sedentary or nomadic in their local area. Flocks prefer semi-open woodland, especially edges of forests, where brushy scrub meets cleared areas, especially near creeks.

The finch makes short, piping high-pitched cheeps. When disturbed, the whole flock will disperse, cheeping, and re-congregate near-by.

N. temporalis is a seed eater, living mostly on grass and sedge seed, but will happily feed on many non-native seeds. Wild birds will even enter large-mesh aviaries in suburban areas to eat seed, given the opportunity.

The red-browed finch, like other weaver finches, builds a large domed nest, with a side entrance, out of grass and small twigs. Nests are usually built 2–3 metres above the ground in dense shrubs. Nesting is communal. Both parents share nest building, incubation of the eggs, and feed the young together. Four to six white eggs are laid per clutch two or three times per year, between October and April. Juveniles are fully independent within 28 days.

Red-browed finches are common aviary birds. The red-browed finch will sometimes hybridise with the star finch, crimson finch, and zebra finch if kept together in captivity.

Origin
Origin and phylogeny has been obtained by Antonio Arnaiz-Villena et al. Estrildinae may have originated in India and dispersed thereafter (towards Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats).

The vegetarian finch

 
The vegetarian finch
The vegetarian finch (Platyspiza crassirostris) is a species of bird in the Darwin's finch group of the tanager family Thraupidae. It is monotypic within the genus Platyspiza. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
 
Systematics
The vegetarian finch is one of Darwin's finches, a group of closely related birds which evolved on the Galápagos Islands. The group is related to the Tiaris grassquits, which are found in South America and the Caribbean. An ancestral relative of those grassquits arrived on the Galápagos Islands some 2–3 million years ago, and the vegetarian finch is an early evolutionary radiation from that ancestor.

When Darwin first collected the species in 1835, he assumed it was a finch. John Gould, who formally described the vegetarian finch in 1837, agreed and assigned it to the genus Fringilla. By 1841, Gould had changed his mind, and moved the species to the genus Camarhynchus, lumping it with the ground and cactus finches. Robert Ridgway separated it from the other species in 1896, assigning it to a new genus Platyspiza. DNA research has now shown that all Darwin's "finches" are actually tanagers.

The vegetarian finch is the sole member of the genus Platyspiza, which some taxonomists still subsume into the genus Camarhynchus. The genus name Platyspiza comes from the Greek platus, meaning "broad" and spiza, meaning "finch" The specific name crassirostris comes from the Latin crassus, meaning "heavy" or "thick" and rostris, meaning "-billed" (rostrum = bill). The "vegetarian" of its common name refers to its primary diet.


Description
The vegetarian finch is one of the largest Galápagos finches, measuring 16 cm (6.3 in) in length and ranging from 29 to 40 g (1.0 to 1.4 oz) in mass. Its upright stance is described as "parrot-like". Its beak is broad and stout, with a strongly curved culmen. The male's upperparts are olive-colored while his underparts are whitish, with smudgy streaking on the lower breast and flanks; some birds show rufous on the underparts. His lower flanks and undertail coverts are buffy. He has a black hood, throat, breast and upper flanks. His iris is dark, and his bill is black in the breeding season and horn-colored during the rest of the year. The female is principally brown above and off-white below, with a buffy rump and flanks. She is streaked with brown on the face, crown, upperparts, throat, breast and flanks, and shows two indistinct buffy wingbars on her brown wings. Her beak is two-toned; the upper mandible ranges in color from dusky brown to black, while the lower mandible is dull orange or dull pink. The immature male is intermediate between the adult male and the adult female. While he shows blackish on his face and throat, he is more streaked below than is the adult male.
 
Voice
The song of the vegetarian finch is nasal and drawn out, with each note lasting about two seconds. Transcribed as ph'wheeeuuuuu-íííúúú, it is accented towards the end. The bird's primary call is high-pitched and squealing, said to resemble the sound of a radio tuner. It also gives a whiny pheep.


Range and habitat
Endemic to the Galápagos, the vegetarian finch is found on eight islands: San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Floreana, Isabela, Marchena, Santiago, Pinta and Fernandina. Although it was previously found on Pinzón and Santa Fé, the species is now extinct on both islands. It is found from 0 to 500 m (0 to 1,640 ft) above sea level. Although it is most common in montane evergreen forest, particularly the transition zone, its range also extends up into the humid zone and down into the arid zone.
Behavior
Breeding Little is known about the breeding ecology of this species. It breeds primarily in the wet season, building a grassy domed nest with a side entrance. Courtship feeding is known to occur throughout courtship and incubation, with some pairs passing food items back and forth several times.
 
Feeding
As its name suggests, the vegetarian finch is largely a plant-eater. It feeds primarily on buds, leaves, flowers and fruit, and will strip the bark off twigs to get to the cambium and phloem which lies underneath. Although it forages mainly in trees, it will descend to the ground to search for fallen fruits and young plant shoots. It also occasionally eats caterpillars. It feeds primarily at mid-levels, in what has been described as a "rather leisurely" manner. Because its principal food items are soft, the vegetarian finch has a beak morphology unlike those of Darwin's finches which specialize on hard seeds. Described as "parrot-like", the beak is small and stout, with a steep profile and a strong curve in the upper mandible. Its primary function is food manipulation at the tip, rather than seed crushing at the base. The vegetarian finch has a disproportionately large gizzard, as well as a long intestine and a disproportionately small heart. These allow it to process the "relatively indigestible" leaves and buds that make up a large proportion of its diet.
 
Conservation and threats
Although the vegetarian finch is uncommon, it is widespread across the Galápagos Islands. Its numbers appear to be stable, though they have not been quantified. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists it as a species of Least Concern, as neither its population size nor its range size approach thresholds for concern. However, like all endemic wildlife on the Galápagos Islands, it is impacted by some human activities. Fires, overgrazing by domestic and feral animals, and the introduction of exotic species are among the most serious threats it faces. It is found in seven of the Important Bird Areas established on the islands.