CreatureData

Somali sparrow

Passer castanopterus Blyth, 1855

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus) is a species in the family Passeridae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh about 18 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus)
Photo: Henrik Grønvold · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the somali sparrow

Weight
18 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
desertsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
5.5src 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 somali sparrow live?

Not recorded

What is the somali sparrow?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus) is a species of bird in the family Passeridae found in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya.

It is considered a superspecies with the russet sparrow (Passer rutilans) and sometimes is even treated as the same species. However, the similarities in plumage and morphology between the two seem to represent convergent evolution rather than a single lineage.

Two subspecies are recognized:

Passer castanopterus castanopterus Blyth, 1855 – Djibouti, Somaliland, and eastern Ethiopia

Passer castanopterus fulgens Friedmann, 1931 – southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya (south to Kapedo and Marsabit).

From the Wikipedia article “Somali sparrow” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Somali_sparrow&oldid=1345386838), 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 somali sparrow endangered?

The somali 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. What the categories mean.

How is the somali sparrow classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyPasseridae
  6. genusPasser
  7. SpeciesPasser castanopterus Blyth, 1855
Other names and names in other languages (28)
  • دوري صوماليArabic
  • pardal de SomàliaCatalan
  • vrabec rezavokřídlýCzech
  • golfan SomaliaWelsh
  • SomalispurvDanish
  • SomalisperlingGerman
  • Somali-SperlingGerman
  • somalia paseroEsperanto
  • Gorrión somalíSpanish
  • somaali varblaneEstonian
  • somalianvarpunenFinnish
  • Moineau de SomalieFrench
  • szomáli verébHungarian
  • Passero somaloItalian
  • Passera di SomaliaItalian
  • クリバネスズメJapanese
  • somalinis žvirblisLithuanian
  • Somalische MusDutch
  • wróbel rudogłowyPolish
  • pardal-somaliPortuguese
  • Сомалийский воробейRussian
  • vrabec hnedohlavýSlovak
  • Somalijski vrabacSerbian
  • somaliagråsparvSwedish
  • Somali SerçesiTurkish
  • горобець рудоголовийUkrainian
  • 索馬利麻雀Chinese
  • 索马里麻雀Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the somali sparrow

Other species in the same genus Passer.

CompareSomali sparrow vs House sparrowSomali sparrow vs Eurasian tree sparrowSomali sparrow vs Spanish sparrowSomali sparrow vs Sudan golden sparrow

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the somali sparrow?

An adult somali sparrow weighs 18 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the somali sparrow endangered?

The somali 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 somali sparrow?

The somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus) 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). Somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/somali-sparrow

MLA

“Somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/somali-sparrow.

BibTeX
@misc{somali_sparrow_2026,
  title = {Somali sparrow (Passer castanopterus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/somali-sparrow},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}