164 THE FINCHES AND WEAVER BIRDS OF THE SCDAN 



Genus : Parser 



The following Sparrows more or less resemble the common House Sparrow, with 

 black on the throats of the males. The females have not the black throat, and are 

 duller than the males. 



VI. rnKsor liispanioJpusit:, Temm. (Spanish Sparrow). Lengtli, (iinclies; wing, 3. 

 Crown of head, chestnut. Sides streaked. Has been recorded from the Nile at 

 Ambukol and Merowe, and from the Ui^per Blue Nile. A winter visitant. I have 

 never met with it, but ^Ir. M. J. Nicoll, of the Giza Zoological Gardens, writes me 

 that he shot it at Merowe this winter, and saw it in hundreds. 



13. Passer italiie, Vieill. (Italian Sparrow). Length, 5'8 inclies ; wing, 3'1. 

 Crown chestnut. Sides not streaked. According to Heuglin it occurs on the Blue 

 Nile, but this wants confirmation. 



14. Passer rufidorsaUs, Brehm. (Sudan House Sparrow). Length, 4'7 inches; 

 wing, 2"7. Crown, grey. Ear coverts whitish, with no black. This is a small, brightly- 

 coloured race, or sub-species, of the common House Sparrow, and its habits are the 

 same. It is extremelv abundant at Khartoum, and along the Nile northwards to 

 Berber and Dongola. Its northward range appears to be checked by the Nubian 

 Desert, and I think the Sparrow at Haifa belongs to a different form, more like the 

 Egyptian bird. Emin obtained it on the Upper Nile as far south as Lado, but it 

 appears to be very scarce on the White Nile. It does not seem to extend to the 

 Red Sea coast ; I found the few Sparrows frequenting houses at Port Sudan were 

 Passer cliffnsus. I do not know how far it extends up the Blue Nile. Its present 

 range will probably spread as villages grow into tow^ns. It would be interesting 

 and useful if people would record its presence or absence in different out-stations 

 at the present time, as it is most destructive to crops, and apparently steadily 

 increasing in numbers. 



15. Passer cordofanlcus, Finsch. (Kordofan Sparrow). Length, 5-6 inches ; 

 wing, 3. Crown, grey. Ear coverts, 'jretj. Heuglin met with them in Central 

 Kordofan, but only at the beginning of the rains. Probably resident. I have 

 never come across it. 



16. Passer sheUeijl, Sharpe (Shelley's Sparrow). Length, 5-G inches; wing, 2-75 

 Very like P. cordnfantcns, but with half of the ear coverts pure white, and half jet- 

 black. I have a male and two females from Mongalla. The only other known 

 specimen is a male obtained by Emin at Lado. Apparently extremely rare. 



The following Sparrows have no black on the throat of the male. 



17. Passer simplex, Licht. (Desert Sparrow). Length, 5-2 inches; wing, 3. 

 Crown and upper parts unmottled rufous-sandy. Kordofan and the northern deserts 

 of the Sudan to between Berber and Suakin. I have never met with it. Eesident. 



18. Passer diffiisus, Smith (Grey-headed Sparrow). Length, 5-5 inches ; wing, 3-4. 

 Crown, head and neck, grey. Most of back, chestnut ; beneath, wdiitish-grey. 

 This is a Bush Sparrow rather than a House Sparrow in its habits, and is met with 

 in large numbers far from human habitations or cultivation. In towns where the 

 common House Sparrow has not established itself, however, as at Port Sudan, this 

 species to some extent adopts the habits of the latter, and frequents buildings. It 

 is a very widely distributed bird in bush-covered country, and I have specimens 

 from Port Sudan, the Setit, the Atbara, Gallabat, El Obeid and the Mazrub Wells 

 in Kordofan, Wau in the Bahr-El-Ghazal, Eoseires on the Blue Nile, the lower 

 White Nile, and Mongalla. I have no information as to its attacking crops, though 



