Passer swainsonii
Silhouette: Andrew Butko (modified) · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
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 |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Swainson's Sparrow sighting in Addis Ababa on a given day, based on 281 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 7th most-seen of the 109 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and July–November
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Swainson's Sparrow in Addis Ababa on a given day, against about 40% in December, the lowest month.
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.
Only Addis Ababa, in our data
Addis Ababa is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Swainson's Sparrow sightings: about 70% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Swainson's Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Addis Ababa (281 verified sightings), 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.
