PASSER 291 



426. SPANISH SPARROW. 

 PASSER HISPANIOLENSIS. 



Passer hispaniolensis (Temm.), Man. d'Orn, p. 353 (1820) ; Gould, B. of 

 E. iii. pi. 185 ; fig. 1 ; Dresser, iii. p. 593, pi. 177 ; Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. 

 Mus. xii. p. 317 ; Gates, F. Brit. Ind. Birds, ii. p. 239 ; P. salicicola 

 (Vieill.), Faun. Franc, p. 417 (1828). 



Moineau cspagnol, French ; Pardal, Portug. ; Gorrion molinero, 

 Span. ; Passera sarda, Ital. ; Bolotnui-vorobey, Russ. 



( ad. (Spain). Like P. italics, it has the head and nape rich chestnut, 

 but the back is much darker and blacker, some of the feathers with white 

 margins ; throat, lower neck, and breast deep black, the flanks broadly 

 streaked with black. Culmen 0'52, wing 3'05, tail 2*45, tarsus 0*85 inch. 

 The female is undistinguishable from that of P. domesticus. 



Hob. Southern Europe, North Africa, Canaries, and Cape 

 Verde Islands ; Asia Minor, Persia, Turkestan, and India, east to 

 Mirzapore. 



Although in its general habits, note, &c., it resembles P. 

 domesticus, it differs considerably in its choice of abode for it is 

 not found near houses but inhabits woods and groves, build- 

 ing its nest in trees, and very frequently in the foundations of 

 the nests of the larger birds of prey. The nest resembles that 

 of P. domesticus, as do the eggs, but they are as a rule rather 

 paler, and I have never seen dark varieties, which are often 

 found of P. domesticus. 



427. AFGHAN SPARROW. 

 PASSER YATII. 



Passer yatii, Sharpe, Cat. B. Br. Mus. xii. p. 322 (1888) : id. Trans. 

 Linn. Soc. 2nd. ser. Zool. v. p. 80, pi. vi. fig. 2. 



<$ ad. (Persia). Upper parts ashy brown, tinged with buff, slightly marked 

 with fox-red on the larger wing-coverts and scapulars ; crown darker ; wings 

 and tail black, bordered with warm, creamy buff ; the inner secondaries very 

 broadly margined ; a few black stripes on the back ; lesser and median wing- 

 coverts black, the latter broadly margined with creamy white ; larger 

 coverts chiefly fox-red, tipped with creamy white ; lores black, supercilium 

 rufous buff, ear-coverts ashy grey ; throat and fore-neck black, some of the 

 feathers with narrow whitish margins ; under parts pale yellow, the breast 

 and flanks dull ashy ; under tail-coverts warm isabelline. Culmen 0'4, 

 wing 2'5, tail 1'8, tarsus 0'65 inch. The female has the throat white, 

 tinged with sulphur, and no yellow on the under parts. 



u 2 



