Animalia Life

Passer luteus
TAXONOMY
Fringilla lutea Lichtenstein, 1823, Dongola, north Sudan. Formerly placed in genus Auripasser.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
French: Moineau dorй; German: Gelbsperling; Spanish: Gorriуn Aureo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
4.7–5.1 in (12–13 cm); 0.4–0.6 oz (11–17 g). Male golden-yellow apart from a chestnut back and some black on the wings. Female is sandy brown, juvenile paler.
DISTRIBUTION
A narrow zone south of the Sahara from Mauritania to the Red Sea.
HABITAT
Arid sandy areas with a low density of trees.
BEHAVIOR
A gregarious, nomadic bird, forming roosts of up to half a million individuals.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Seeds and a small amount of insects. Nestlings mainly reared on invertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeding occurs when there is a flush of insects following rains. Forms dispersed colonies of up to 50,000 nests. Clutch two to three eggs; incubation 10–12 days, fledging 13–14 days. Second brood may be raised in a new location where conditions have become suitable.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. A common species.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Can be a pest where large flocks are attracted to ripening cereals.

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