Passer motitensis
Silhouette: Andrew Butko (modified) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The great sparrow (Passer motitensis), also known as the southern rufous sparrow, is found in southern Africa in dry, wooded savannah and towns. This is a 15–16 cm long sparrow superficially like a large house sparrow. It has a grey crown and rear neck and rufous upperparts.
While in the past some authorities considered this species and several related species of 'rufous sparrow' on the African mainland to be the same as the Iago sparrow of Cape Verde, they do not appear to be so closely related as thought. A few currently recognise only some of the rufous sparrows as separate from the great sparrow, but the Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International recognise the Socotra sparrow, Kenya sparrow, Kordofan sparrow, and Shelley's sparrow as separate species.
Southern Rufous Sparrow at the Internet Bird Collection Great Sparrow species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 2 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 3 | Namib-Naukluft National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luanda | 🇦🇴 Angola |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Great Rufous Sparrow sighting in Etosha National Park on a given day, based on 397 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 53rd most-seen of the 260 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.
August and November–December
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Great Rufous Sparrow in Etosha National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March, May and July, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Great Rufous 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.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Great Rufous Sparrow sightings, Etosha National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 10%) and Namib-Naukluft National Park (Namibia, under 5%).
Same genus: Passer
The closest relatives of the Great Rufous Sparrow that you can see in Etosha National Park (genus Passer, True Sparrows) are Southern Gray-headed Sparrow (about 40%) and Cape Sparrow (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Great Rufous Sparrow is recorded against all the birds logged in Etosha National Park (397 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.
