Passer eminibey
The Chestnut Sparrow (Passer eminibey) is a striking Old World sparrow, notably distinct for the male's uniform dark plumage. Males are almost entirely glossy chestnut to deep black, often appearing uniformly dark in the field, sometimes with subtle darker streaking, reaching lengths of 10.5-12 cm (4.1-4.7 in) and weighing 12-17 g (0.4-0.6 oz). Females are duller, exhibiting a browner, streaked upperparts and paler underparts, often with a conspicuous pale supercilium. Juveniles resemble fema...
Inhabits arid and semi-arid savannas, acacia woodlands, thorny scrublands, and cultivated areas, typically at elevations between 500 and 2000 meters.
Omnivorous, primarily consuming seeds from grasses and cultivated grains; insects, especially grasshoppers and beetles, form a significant part of the diet during breeding season.
Chestnut Sparrows are highly diurnal and active birds, exhibiting strong social tendencies, especially outside the breeding season when they form large, noisy flocks. Foraging primarily occurs on the ground, where they glean seeds, but they are also observed hawking insects in flight, particularl...
Found exclusively in East Africa, the Chestnut Sparrow's distribution spans a relatively narrow belt from Eritrea and eastern Sudan south through Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, and Kenya, extending into parts of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Its range largely follows the semi-arid and ari...
Least Concern
- Its scientific name, `eminibey`, honors Emin Pasha, an Ottoman-German physician, naturalist, and governor of Equatoria. - The male Chestnut Sparrow is one of the darkest-plumaged sparrows in the `Passer` genus, making it highly distinctive among its relatives. - They are known to reuse the old,...