Episode 3198
Saxaul sparrow
Thu, 2026-Feb-05 01:04 UTC
Length - 2:51
Direct Link
Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day, your daily dose of knowledge from Wikipedia's finest articles.
The featured article for Thursday, 5 February 2026, is Saxaul sparrow.
The saxaul sparrow (Passer ammodendri) is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in parts of Central Asia. At 14–16 centimetres (5.5–6.3 in) and 25–32 grams (0.88–1.13 oz), it is among the larger sparrows. Both sexes have plumage ranging from dull grey to sandy brown, and pale brown legs. Females have less boldly coloured plumage and bills, lacking the pattern of black stripes on the male's head. The head markings of both sexes make the saxaul sparrow distinctive and unlikely to be confused with any other bird. Vocalisations include a comparatively soft and musical chirping call, a song, and a flight call.
Three subspecies are recognised, differing in the overall tone of their plumage and in the head striping of the female. The subspecies ammodendri occurs in the west of the saxaul sparrow's range, while stoliczkae and nigricans occur in the east. This distribution falls into six probably disjunct areas across Central Asia, from central Turkmenistan to northern Gansu in China. A bird of deserts, the saxaul sparrow favours areas with shrubs such as the saxaul, near rivers and oases. Though it has lost parts of its range to habitat destruction caused by agriculture, it is not seriously threatened by human activities.
Little is known of the saxaul sparrow's behaviour. Often hidden in foliage, it forages in trees and on the ground. It feeds mostly on seeds, such as from saxaul (Haloxylon), as well as insects while breeding and as a nestling. When not breeding, it forms wandering flocks, but it is less social than other sparrows while breeding, often nesting in isolated pairs. Nests are round bundles of dry plant material lined with soft materials such as feathers. They are built in holes in tree cavities, earth banks, rocky slopes, and within man-made structures or the nests of birds of prey. Two clutches of five or six eggs are typically laid in a season. Both parents construct the nest and care for their eggs and young.
This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 01:04 UTC on Thursday, 5 February 2026.
For the full current version of the article, see Saxaul sparrow on Wikipedia.
This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.
Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.
Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.
Until next time, I'm neural Emma.
|
|
