Cape Sparrow
Encyclopedia
The Cape Sparrow or Mossie (Passer melanurus) is a bird of the sparrow
family
Passeridae. Brightly coloured and distinctive, it is coloured grey, brown, and chestnut, with some black and white markings on the male. It is found in southern Africa
, where it inhabits savanna
, cultivated areas, and towns.
The Cape Sparrow's vocalisations are chirps similar to those of the House Sparrow
, but much more musical and mellow. The basic call is used in flight and while perching socially and transcribed as chissip, chirrup, chreep, or chirrichup. A call used by the male to advertise nest ownership is transcribed as tweeng or twileeng. Distinctive and loud, this call sometimes becomes a jerky and repetitive song, transcibed as chip cheerup, chip cheerup.
in 1776, as Loxia melanura. Some other earlier biologists described the Cape Sparrow in Loxia or Fringilla
, but it has otherwise been regarded as a member of the genus
Passer
. Within this genus its relations have generally been regarded as obscure. Mitochondrial DNA
studies, however, have strongly suggested that the Cape Sparrow is the earliest offshoot, or most basal
member, of its genus.
The Cape Sparrow's specific epithet comes from the Greek
μέλας (melas, "black") and ουρά (oura, "tail"), while the name of the genus Passer comes from a Latin
word for small birds.
The Cape Sparrow has three subspecies
. The nominate subspecies Passer melanurus melanurus is found in eastern South Africa, east to the west of Free State
, and the subspecies vicinus, which is sometimes merged with melanurus, east from Free State to the Eastern Cape and Lesotho. The subspecies damarensis ranges from the extreme southern coastal areas of Angola into Namibia
, Botswana
and the extreme west of Zimbabwe
, as well as northern South Africa.
from Angola
south to South Africa
and east to Lesotho
. Its original habitats were the semi-arid savanna
, thornveld, and light woodland
typical of southern Africa. When settled agriculture arrived in its range about a thousand years ago, it adapted to cultivated land. Since the arrival of settlement, it has moved into towns. The Cape Sparrow prefers habitats with an annual rainfall of less than 75 cm (30 in), though in desert areas it is usually found near watercourses or watering holes. While it occurs in urban centres, it prefers parks, gardens, and other open spaces, and has a low reproductive success in more built-up areas.
In towns, the Cape Sparrow competes with both the native Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
and the introduced
House Sparrow
. Since it is more established around humans in its range than either, it successfully competes with both species, though they may exclude it from nesting in holes. There are reports by birdwatchers in suburban areas of South Africa of both increases in some regions (the northern Johannesburg
area, and Pietermaritzburg
) and decreases in others (the southern Cape Town
area). The House Sparrow is reported decreasing in several urban areas, as it has in parts of Europe, declines which are attributed to factors including the increasing density of garden plantings and increases in predation.
, and Euplectes
birds. Birds from urban areas form flocks seasonally and fly out to nearby countryside to feed on ripening grain, returning at night to roost. Cape Sparrows prefer to roost in nests, and while wandering when not breeding, birds in uncultivated areas roost in old nests or dense bushes. In farmland and towns, birds build special nests for roosting, lined more poorly than breeding nests, but made of more insulating material.
An unusual social behaviour has been described from Cape Sparrows in Johannesburg. Groups of 20–30 birds separate from larger flocks and stand close together on the ground with tails on the ground and heads held high. These groups sometimes move in an unconcerted fashion by hopping slowly. Often birds will fly up and hover 30–60 cm (12–24 in) above the ground. During these gatherings birds are silent and are never antagonistic. This behaviour's significance is unknown, and it is not reported in any other sparrow.
The Cape Sparrow mostly eats seeds, foraging in trees and on the ground. The larger seeds of cereal
s, wild grasses, and other small plants are preferred, with wheat
and khakiweed (Alternanthera caracasana
) being favourites. Buds and soft fruits are also taken, causing considerable damage to agriculture. Insects are eaten, and nestlings seem to fed exclusively on caterpillar
s. The Cape Sparrow eats the soft shoots of plants, and probes in aloe
s for nectar, but these habits are not important sources of food.
. It seems pairs are formed in the non-breeding flocks, but it is not known how pairs are formed, or if the pair bond is for life. Once ready to breed, newly mated pairs look for a suitable nesting site, spending mornings searching, and returning to their flock in the afternoon. Once a site has been selected, both birds begin to build their nest. Other pairs seeking a nest site join them, and in this matter a colony forms quickly.
The Cape Sparrow utilises a variety of nesting sites, including holes as well as open locations. Bushes and trees, especially acacia
s, seem to be preferred. Many nests may be built in a single tree. Holes and other covered sites are chosen less frequently. Nests have been recorded from the eaves of buildings, on creepers on walls, in holes in earth banks, and in holes in haystacks. Sometimes the Cape Sparrow nests in the disused nests of other birds, such as weavers and swallow
s. Pairs that nest away from colonies usually choose low bushes or utility poles as nesting sites. Nests are placed at least a metre above the ground, and can be only a few centimetres apart in colonies. Only the nest and its very close vicinity are defended as a territory. Males defend their territory with threatening postures, and sometimes by fighting with bills on the ground.
Nests built in the open are large and untidy domed structures. Nests are built mainly of dry grass and twigs, with a soft lining of plant down. Any leaves or thorns present in a nest tree are worked into the nest. In cavity nests, the hole is simply filled with a shapeless mass of grass with a cup of soft material containing the eggs on the inside. When the disused nests of weavers are utilised, they are simply given a soft lining. The nest entrance is in the side, and is sometimes extended into a funnel. The male and the female construct the nest together, keeping close when finding material and weaving it together.
The courtship display
is poorly recorded. British ornithologist J. Denis Summers-Smith
observed a display in which the male hopped beside the female in a tree, drooping its wings and ruffling the chestnut-coloured feathers on its back. Groups of two or more males have been observed chasing a female. In the House Sparrow a similar display exists, in which a female who is not ready to copulate is chased by her mate, who is joined by other males. It is not known if the display in the Cape Sparrow has a similar significance. When ready to mate, the female crouches in solicitation and is mounted by the male.
Clutches
contain between two and six eggs, typically three or four. Clutches are larger further south, and during the peak of the breeding season. Both birds of a pair incubate the eggs during the day, switching every ten or fifteen minutes. At night, only the female incubates the eggs, while the male roosts outside or in the nest. In pairs breeding outside of colonies, birds leave the nest to make room for their mates upon hearing their mates approaching. Among colonial pairs, the incubating bird waits until its partner arrives in the nest, to prevent other birds from entering the nest. Incubation seems to begin before the clutch is complete, and lasts 12–24 days. The young of a clutch hatch over two or three days and are brooded until their feathers develop and eyes open five days after hatching. The young are fed on insects until they fledge 16 to 25, typically 17, days after hatching. After this they are fed for one or two weeks. While feeding nestlings, the female is dominant over the male.
The Cape Sparrow is among the main hosts of brood parasitism
by the Dideric Cuckoo
, and has been recorded parasitising conspecifically.
Instances of hybridisation with the House Sparrow, the Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, and the Sudan Golden Sparrow
have been reported.
The Cape Sparrow has been featured on several coins of the South African rand, and on stamps from Lesotho
and the Central African Republic
.
Sparrow
The 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 genus of the family, Passer...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Passeridae. Brightly coloured and distinctive, it is coloured grey, brown, and chestnut, with some black and white markings on the male. It is found in southern Africa
Southern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
, where it inhabits savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, cultivated areas, and towns.
Description
For a sparrow, the Cape Sparrow is brightly coloured and distinctive, medium-sized at 14 –. The breeding male has a mostly black head, but with a broad white mark on each side, curling from behind the eye to the throat. On the throat a narrow black band connects the black bib of the breast to black of the head. Underparts are greyish, darker on the flanks. back of the male's neck is dark grey, and its back and shoulders are bright chestnut. The male has a white and a black wing bar below its shoulders, and flight feathers and tail streaked grey and black. The female is plumaged like the male, but is duller and has a grey head with a different pattern from the male, though it bears a hint of the pale head markings of the male. The juvenile is like the female, but young males show black on the head from an early age.The Cape Sparrow's vocalisations are chirps similar to those of the House Sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
, but much more musical and mellow. The basic call is used in flight and while perching socially and transcribed as chissip, chirrup, chreep, or chirrichup. A call used by the male to advertise nest ownership is transcribed as tweeng or twileeng. Distinctive and loud, this call sometimes becomes a jerky and repetitive song, transcibed as chip cheerup, chip cheerup.
Taxonomy
The Cape Sparrow was first described by Philipp Ludwig Statius MüllerPhilipp Ludwig Statius Müller
Philipp Ludwig Statius Muller was a German zoologist.Statius Muller was born in Esens, and was Professor of Natural Science at Erlangen. Between 1773 and 1776, he published a German translation of Linnaeus's Natursystem...
in 1776, as Loxia melanura. Some other earlier biologists described the Cape Sparrow in Loxia or Fringilla
Fringilla
The genus Fringilla is a small group of finches from the Old World, which are the only species in the subfamily Fringillinae. The three species are:*Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs*Blue Chaffinch Fringilla teydea...
, but it has otherwise been regarded as a member of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Passer
Passer
Passer is a genus of Old World sparrows. These sparrows are plump little brown or greyish birds often with black, yellow or white markings. Typically 10–20 cm long, they have short tails and stubby conical beaks...
. Within this genus its relations have generally been regarded as obscure. Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
studies, however, have strongly suggested that the Cape Sparrow is the earliest offshoot, or most basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
member, of its genus.
The Cape Sparrow's specific epithet comes from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
μέλας (melas, "black") and ουρά (oura, "tail"), while the name of the genus Passer comes from a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word for small birds.
The Cape Sparrow has three subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
. The nominate subspecies Passer melanurus melanurus is found in eastern South Africa, east to the west of Free State
Free State
The Free State is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bloemfontein, which is also South Africa's judicial capital. Its historical origins lie in the Orange Free State Boer republic and later Orange Free State Province. The current borders of the province date from 1994 when the Bantustans...
, and the subspecies vicinus, which is sometimes merged with melanurus, east from Free State to the Eastern Cape and Lesotho. The subspecies damarensis ranges from the extreme southern coastal areas of Angola into Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
and the extreme west of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, as well as northern South Africa.
Distribution and habitat
The Cape Sparrow inhabits southern AfricaSouthern Africa
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...
from Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
south to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and east to Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
. Its original habitats were the semi-arid savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, thornveld, and light woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
typical of southern Africa. When settled agriculture arrived in its range about a thousand years ago, it adapted to cultivated land. Since the arrival of settlement, it has moved into towns. The Cape Sparrow prefers habitats with an annual rainfall of less than 75 cm (30 in), though in desert areas it is usually found near watercourses or watering holes. While it occurs in urban centres, it prefers parks, gardens, and other open spaces, and has a low reproductive success in more built-up areas.
In towns, the Cape Sparrow competes with both the native Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
The Southern Grey-headed Sparrow is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is sometimes treated as a subspecies of the Grey-headed Sparrow. It is found in savanna and woodland in Angola and Zambia down to South Africa....
and the introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
House Sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
. Since it is more established around humans in its range than either, it successfully competes with both species, though they may exclude it from nesting in holes. There are reports by birdwatchers in suburban areas of South Africa of both increases in some regions (the northern Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
area, and Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg is the capital and second largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838, and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its "purist" Zulu name is umGungundlovu, and this is the name used for the district municipality...
) and decreases in others (the southern Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
area). The House Sparrow is reported decreasing in several urban areas, as it has in parts of Europe, declines which are attributed to factors including the increasing density of garden plantings and increases in predation.
Behaviour
The Cape Sparrow is social, living in flocks, and usually breeding in colonies. Away from humans it is nomadic, and forms flocks of up to 200 birds. In cultivated and built up areas, it forms smaller flocks where food is provided for livestock or birds. In such places, it associates with other seed-eating birds, such as the House Sparrow, the Cape WeaverCape Weaver
The Cape Weaver is a resident breeding bird species endemic to South Africa.This common species occurs in grassland, agricultural and fynbos habitats, often near rivers...
, and Euplectes
Euplectes
Euplectes is a genus of passerine bird in the weaver family, Ploceidae. It contains the bishops and widowbirds. They are all native to Africa south of the Sahara...
birds. Birds from urban areas form flocks seasonally and fly out to nearby countryside to feed on ripening grain, returning at night to roost. Cape Sparrows prefer to roost in nests, and while wandering when not breeding, birds in uncultivated areas roost in old nests or dense bushes. In farmland and towns, birds build special nests for roosting, lined more poorly than breeding nests, but made of more insulating material.
An unusual social behaviour has been described from Cape Sparrows in Johannesburg. Groups of 20–30 birds separate from larger flocks and stand close together on the ground with tails on the ground and heads held high. These groups sometimes move in an unconcerted fashion by hopping slowly. Often birds will fly up and hover 30–60 cm (12–24 in) above the ground. During these gatherings birds are silent and are never antagonistic. This behaviour's significance is unknown, and it is not reported in any other sparrow.
The Cape Sparrow mostly eats seeds, foraging in trees and on the ground. The larger seeds of cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, wild grasses, and other small plants are preferred, with wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
and khakiweed (Alternanthera caracasana
Alternanthera caracasana
Alternanthera caracasana is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common names khakiweed, washerwoman and mat chaff flower. It is native to Central and South Africa but is well-known elsewhere as a noxious weed...
) being favourites. Buds and soft fruits are also taken, causing considerable damage to agriculture. Insects are eaten, and nestlings seem to fed exclusively on caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s. The Cape Sparrow eats the soft shoots of plants, and probes in aloe
Aloe
Aloe , also Aloë, is a genus containing about 500 species of flowering succulent plants. The most common and well known of these is Aloe vera, or "true aloe"....
s for nectar, but these habits are not important sources of food.
Breeding
The Cape Sparrow usually breeds in loose colonies of 50–100 birds. 10 to 20 percent of the breeding birds in each population nest away from colonies, for unknown reasons. The Cape Sparrow usually is monogamous, but some records of a male and two females nesting and raising young in one nest have been made in Western CapeWestern Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
. It seems pairs are formed in the non-breeding flocks, but it is not known how pairs are formed, or if the pair bond is for life. Once ready to breed, newly mated pairs look for a suitable nesting site, spending mornings searching, and returning to their flock in the afternoon. Once a site has been selected, both birds begin to build their nest. Other pairs seeking a nest site join them, and in this matter a colony forms quickly.
The Cape Sparrow utilises a variety of nesting sites, including holes as well as open locations. Bushes and trees, especially acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
s, seem to be preferred. Many nests may be built in a single tree. Holes and other covered sites are chosen less frequently. Nests have been recorded from the eaves of buildings, on creepers on walls, in holes in earth banks, and in holes in haystacks. Sometimes the Cape Sparrow nests in the disused nests of other birds, such as weavers and swallow
Swallow
The swallows and martins are a group of passerine birds in the family Hirundinidae which are characterised by their adaptation to aerial feeding...
s. Pairs that nest away from colonies usually choose low bushes or utility poles as nesting sites. Nests are placed at least a metre above the ground, and can be only a few centimetres apart in colonies. Only the nest and its very close vicinity are defended as a territory. Males defend their territory with threatening postures, and sometimes by fighting with bills on the ground.
Nests built in the open are large and untidy domed structures. Nests are built mainly of dry grass and twigs, with a soft lining of plant down. Any leaves or thorns present in a nest tree are worked into the nest. In cavity nests, the hole is simply filled with a shapeless mass of grass with a cup of soft material containing the eggs on the inside. When the disused nests of weavers are utilised, they are simply given a soft lining. The nest entrance is in the side, and is sometimes extended into a funnel. The male and the female construct the nest together, keeping close when finding material and weaving it together.
The courtship display
Courtship display
Courtship display is a special, sometimes ritualised, set of behaviours which some animals perform as part of courtship. Courtship behaviours can include special calls, postures, and movements, and may involve special plumage, bright colours or other ornamentation. A good example is the 'dancing'...
is poorly recorded. British ornithologist J. Denis Summers-Smith
J. Denis Summers-Smith
James Denis Summers-Smith is a British ornithologist and mechanical engineer, a specialist both in sparrows and industrial tribology....
observed a display in which the male hopped beside the female in a tree, drooping its wings and ruffling the chestnut-coloured feathers on its back. Groups of two or more males have been observed chasing a female. In the House Sparrow a similar display exists, in which a female who is not ready to copulate is chased by her mate, who is joined by other males. It is not known if the display in the Cape Sparrow has a similar significance. When ready to mate, the female crouches in solicitation and is mounted by the male.
Clutches
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
contain between two and six eggs, typically three or four. Clutches are larger further south, and during the peak of the breeding season. Both birds of a pair incubate the eggs during the day, switching every ten or fifteen minutes. At night, only the female incubates the eggs, while the male roosts outside or in the nest. In pairs breeding outside of colonies, birds leave the nest to make room for their mates upon hearing their mates approaching. Among colonial pairs, the incubating bird waits until its partner arrives in the nest, to prevent other birds from entering the nest. Incubation seems to begin before the clutch is complete, and lasts 12–24 days. The young of a clutch hatch over two or three days and are brooded until their feathers develop and eyes open five days after hatching. The young are fed on insects until they fledge 16 to 25, typically 17, days after hatching. After this they are fed for one or two weeks. While feeding nestlings, the female is dominant over the male.
The Cape Sparrow is among the main hosts of brood parasitism
Brood parasite
Brood parasites are organisms that use the strategy of brood parasitism, a kind of kleptoparasitism found among birds, fish or insects, involving the manipulation and use of host individuals either of the same or different species to raise the young of the brood-parasite...
by the Dideric Cuckoo
Dideric Cuckoo
The Diederik Cuckoo , formerly Dideric Cuckoo or Didric Cuckoo, is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes, which also includes the roadrunners, the anis, and the Hoatzin....
, and has been recorded parasitising conspecifically.
Instances of hybridisation with the House Sparrow, the Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, and the Sudan Golden Sparrow
Sudan Golden Sparrow
The Sudan Golden Sparrow is a small bird in the sparrow family, found to the south of the Sahara Desert in Africa. It is a popular cage bird, and in aviculture it is known as the Golden Song Sparrow...
have been reported.
Relationships with humans
The Cape Sparrow is an abundant and familiar bird of human habitations and cultivation in most of southern Africa. It is an agricultural pest, especially to grain cultivation and vineyards. When vineyards in the southwest Cape started letting weeds grow between vines to conserve moisture around 1956, the Cape Sparrow moved in. Cape Sparrows quickly exhausted the seeds and started eating the grapes. The Cape Sparrow is now a serious pest in vineyards, but in these areas has such a low reproductive success that populations cannot be maintained without immigration.The Cape Sparrow has been featured on several coins of the South African rand, and on stamps from Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
and the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
.
External links
- Cape Sparrow at the Internet Bird Collection