Passer swainsonii
Silhouette: Andrew Butko (modified) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The Swainson's sparrow (Passer swainsonii) is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae. Sometimes considered a subspecies of the grey-headed sparrow, it occurs in northeastern Africa, largely in the Ethiopian Highlands. This sparrow was named after the English naturalist and illustrator William Swainson.
The Swainson's sparrow reaches a body length of 16 centimetres (6.3 in). There is no conspicuous sexual dimorphism. It is often considered a race of grey-headed sparrow, but it tends to be darker, especially on the head and shoulders. There is a white bar on the shoulder, but this is not always visible. Similarly, the pale chestnut tail and rump is not always visible.
It occurs in the highlands of Ethiopia and Somalia, and in some of Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Kenya. Apart from the far west, it is common throughout its range. Some populations show seasonal migrations. The habitats of the Swainson's sparrow are mountainous areas, marshes, open forest areas, savannas and shrubby grasslands. However, most often it occurs in human settlements and their surroundings. In Eritrea, it lives mostly on the open plateau... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Bale Mountains National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addis Ababa | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Swainson's Sparrow sighting in Bale Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 35 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 117 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Swainson's Sparrow in Bale Mountains National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, June and December, the lowest months. March and September have too few records to rate.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Swainson's Sparrow sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Swainson's Sparrow sightings, Bale Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 30%).
Same order: Passeriformes
The closest relatives of the Swainson's Sparrow that you can see in Bale Mountains National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Moorland Chat (about 80%), Abyssinian Siskin (about 70%) and Ethiopian Cisticola (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swainson's Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Bale Mountains National Park (35 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
