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Kordofan Rufous Sparrow Passer cordofanicus Scientific name definitions

Denis Summers-Smith
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2009

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

13–15 cm. Small sparrow with heavy, slightly arched bill. Male has blue-grey crown and nape, black lores, crescent-shaped chestnut band behind eye and down to side of neck, white cheek separated from crown by narrow black line behind eye and around ear-coverts, small and narrow black bib; upperparts chestnut, upper back boldly streaked black; upperwing blackish to dark brown, feathers edged buffish, broad white tips on median coverts, narrow buff tips on greater coverts, small buff or sandy patch at base of primaries; tail dark brown, outer feathers edged paler; underparts pure white; iris dark brown; bill horn-coloured, becoming black in breeding season; legs brownish. Distinguished from very similar P. motitensis mainly by distinctly smaller size, and white (not pale grey) cheek and underparts. Female is similar to male but paler, with black areas replaced by grey, chestnut on head paler and buffier. Juvenile resembles female, but with paler and washed-out appearance.

Systematics History

See P. motitensis. Present species treated as conspecific with P. shelleyi and P. rufocinctus by some recent authors (1, 2). Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

E Chad (E from Oum-Hadjer) and SW Sudan (Darfur and Kordofan).

Habitat

Arid country, usually near villages and surrounding cultivated land.

Movement

No information. Presumed mainly resident.

Diet and Foraging

Few data. Mainly grain and seeds.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Not studied; said not to be distinguishable from that of other sparrows, e.g. P. motitensis.

Breeding

Season Jun–Sept in Chad and Sept–Nov in Sudan. Nest an untidy spherical bundle of dry grass, domed and with long entrance tunnel, placed in thorny bush. Clutch 3–5 eggs. No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Common to locally common within small range.
Distribution of the Kordofan Rufous Sparrow - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
  • Breeding
  • Non-Breeding
Distribution of the Kordofan Rufous Sparrow

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Summers-Smith, D. (2020). Kordofan Rufous Sparrow (Passer cordofanicus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.korspa1.01
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