Birds of Cape Verde 2 – Sparrows

1. House Sparrow 2. Spanish Sparrow 3. Lago Sparrow

The "true sparrows" - Old World sparrows (From Africa, Asia or Europe) belong in the family Passeridae and are small passerine birds. Generally, sparrows tend to be small, plump brown-grey birds with short tails and stubby yet powerful beaks. The differences between sparrow species can be subtle. They are primarily seed-eaters though they also consume small insects. A few species will scavenge the city looking for food - but not those that can be seen on Ponta Bicuda. These are birds you can get quite up-close and personal with though as they will happily eat virtually anything in small quantities. Members of this family range in size from the Chestnut Sparrow (Passer eminibey), at 11.4 cm (4.5 inches) and 13.4 g., to the Parrot-billed Sparrow (Passer gongonensis), at 18 cm (7 inches) and 42 g. (1.5 oz). Sparrows are physically similar to other seed-eating birds, such as finches, but have a vestigial dorsal outer primary feather and an extra bone in the tongue.