CreatureData

Iago sparrow

Passer iagoensis (Gould, 1838)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis) is a species in the family Passeridae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 31.5 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis)
Photo: Ivo Antušek · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the iago sparrow

Weight
31.5 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
rockysrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
4src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the iago sparrow live?

Not recorded

What is the iago sparrow?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis), also known as the Cape Verde or rufous-backed sparrow, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae. It is endemic to the Cape Verde archipelago, in the eastern Atlantic Ocean near western Africa. Females and young birds have brown plumage with black marks above, and a dull grey underside, and are distinguished from other species of sparrow by their large, distinct supercilium. Males have a brighter underside and bold black and chestnut stripes on their head. At 12.5–13 centimetres (4.9–5.1 in) long, it is a smaller sparrow. This bird's vocalisations are mostly variations on its chirp, which differ somewhat between males and females.

The Iago sparrow was once thought to be most closely related to the rufous sparrows, a group of species within the genus Passer which live in similar habitats on continental Africa. Though the Iago sparrow is closest to the rufous sparrows in appearance, it has a number of crucial differences in morphology and behavior, and is separated by thousands of kilometres. It may in fact be more closely related to the house sparrow and Spanish sparrow. In Cape Verde it occurs on all but one island, and on most of them it is quite common. The Iago sparrow occurs in most of the habitats that are available in its range, such as lava plains, rocky hills, and gorges; however, the house sparrow and Spanish sparrow are typically present instead in denser settlements and richer cultivated areas respectively. Because the Iago sparrow is not under any serious threats, it is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

From the Wikipedia article “Iago sparrow” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Iago_sparrow&oldid=1380254200), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the iago sparrow endangered?

The iago sparrow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the iago sparrow classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPasseridae
  6. genusPasser
  7. SpeciesPasser iagoensis (Gould, 1838)

Synonyms Passer brancoensis, Passer iagoenis, Passer iagoensis iagoensis, Passer motitensis iagoensis, Pyrgita iagoensis

Other names and names in other languages (45)
  • Cape Verde sparrowEnglish
  • CVSPEnglish
  • Rufous-backed sparrowEnglish
  • دوري ياغوArabic
  • pardal de Cap VerdCatalan
  • vrabec ostrovníCzech
  • vrabec kapverdskýCzech
  • Kap Verde-spurvDanish
  • JagosperlingGerman
  • Kap-Verde-SperlingGerman
  • KapverdensperlingGerman
  • RostsperlingGerman
  • kaboverda paseroEsperanto
  • Gorrión de Cabo VerdeSpanish
  • kapverdi varblaneEstonian
  • Txolarre handiBasque
  • گنجشک ایاگوPersian
  • kapverdenvarpunenFinnish
  • Moineau à dos rouxFrench
  • Moineau des Iles Cap-VertFrench
  • Moineau du Cap-VertFrench
  • Gealbhan droimruaIrish
  • דרור כף ורדהHebrew
  • zöld-foki verébHungarian
  • RoðaspörIcelandic
  • Passero di Capo VerdeItalian
  • ケープベルデセアカスズメJapanese
  • Žaliojo Kyšulio salų žvirblisLithuanian
  • Kaboverdes zvirbulisLatvian
  • Kaapverdische MusDutch
  • kappverdespurvNorwegian
  • wróbel rudogrzbietyPolish
  • ایاگو چڑیWestern Panjabi
  • pardal-de-cabo-verdePortuguese
  • Pardal-de-terraPortuguese
  • Капверденский воробейRussian
  • Кабо-вердианский воробейRussian
  • KappVerdecihciNorthern Sami
  • vrabec čiernočelýSlovak
  • zelenortski vrabecSlovenian
  • Zelenortski vrabacSerbian
  • kapverdesparvSwedish
  • İago SerçesiTurkish
  • горобець острівнийUkrainian
  • 棕背麻雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the iago sparrow

Other species in the same genus Passer.

CompareIago sparrow vs House sparrowIago sparrow vs Eurasian tree sparrowIago sparrow vs Spanish sparrowIago sparrow vs Sudan golden sparrow

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the iago sparrow?

An adult iago sparrow weighs 31.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the iago sparrow endangered?

The iago sparrow is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the iago sparrow?

The iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis) belongs to the family Passeridae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/iago-sparrow

MLA

“Iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/iago-sparrow.

BibTeX
@misc{iago_sparrow_2026,
  title = {Iago sparrow (Passer iagoensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/iago-sparrow},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}