From Opus

Passer euchlorus

[edit] Identification

12 - 13cm.

[edit] Male

• Golden yellow plumage
• Paler yellow upperwing-coverts with greyish inner webs
• Black flight-feathers with whitish edges
• Black tail feathers with broad white edges
• Dark brown eye
• Flesh-coloured to creamy bill, black in breeding season

[edit] Female

• Pale buff or sandy grey plumage
• Wings and tail similar to male

Juveniles are similar to females but have a faint spotting on the upperparts

[edit] Distribution

Found in the southwestern tip of the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia and Yemen) and adjacent Djibouti and extreme coastal northwest Somalia. The presence in Africa is the result of a recent expansion, possibly resulting from escaped cagebirds.
Common in most of its range.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1].
This taxon is considered a subspecies of Sudan Golden Sparrow by some authors^[2]. Both species were formerly placed in the genus Auripasser and form a superspecies.

[edit] Habitat

Thorn savanna and scrub habitats. Usually close to cultivated land.

[edit] Behaviour

Feeds on seeds of grasses and cereals.
A gregarious species, foraging in small flocks. Outside breeding season in large flocks of thousands of birds.
Breeding recorded from March to July in Yemen. A colonial breeder with 20 to 30 nests in one tree. The nest is an oval dome with a side entrance, made with acacia twigs and plant fibres. It's placed in a tree, mainly acacias. Lays 4 - 6 eggs.
A sedentary species with some local movements outside breeding season.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase#Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2009. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 14: Bush-shrikes to Old World Sparrows. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553507

• List of references

[edit] External Links