Sahel bush sparrow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sahel bush sparrow
Male (top image) and females in Senegal (below)
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Passeridae
Genus:	Gymnoris
Species:	G. dentata
Binomial name
Gymnoris dentata (Sundevall, 1850)
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Synonyms
Gymnornis dentata Petronia dentata Xanthodira dentata

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The Sahel bush sparrow is a small bird also known as the bush petronia. It belongs to the Passeridae family, which includes many sparrows. You can find this bird in parts of Africa, from countries like Mauritania and Guinea all the way east to Eritrea. It also lives in the south-western Arabian Peninsula. This sparrow loves dry places like savannas (grassy areas with scattered trees) and dry shrublands (areas with lots of bushes).

What Does the Sahel Bush Sparrow Look Like?

The Sahel bush sparrow is a small bird, growing to about 13 cm (5 in) long. It has a big, cone-shaped beak and a short tail.

Male vs. Female Sparrows

The male bird has a grey head and a reddish-brown stripe above its eye, called a supercilium. Its face and throat are greyish-brown, with a creamy-white patch under its chin. During the breeding season, the male's beak is black, but it turns horn-coloured (a yellowish-brown) for the rest of the year. Its back and tail are mostly brown. You might see a faint yellowish spot on its upper throat. Its chest is creamy-buff, becoming whiter on its belly.

The female looks similar to the male, but with a few differences. Her white stripe above her eye is clearer, and her head and face are brownish instead of grey. Her beak stays horn-coloured all year round. She also has two white bars on her wings. Young sparrows look a lot like the female.

Where Does the Sahel Bush Sparrow Live?

This bush sparrow lives in a wide strip across the Sahel region of Africa. Its home stretches from Senegal in the west to Eritrea and Yemen in the east. It prefers semi-arid savannas, which are dry grasslands with scattered trees. You can also find them in clearings near towns, often where people grow crops. They live at heights up to about 1,700 m (5,600 ft) above sea level.

Is the Sahel Bush Sparrow in Danger?

The Sahel bush sparrow lives across a very large area and is quite common in many places. The number of these birds seems to be stable, and experts haven't found any major threats to them. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed its conservation status as "least concern". This means it's not currently considered to be at risk of disappearing.