Somali sparrow

{{Short description|Species of bird}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Somali sparrow

| image= SomaliSparrow.svg

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=Passer castanopterus |volume=2016 |page=e.T22718187A94571562 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22718187A94571562.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}

| taxon = Passer castanopterus

| authority = Blyth, 1855

}}

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.{{contradictory-inline|date=February 2025}}{{cite book|last=Summers-Smith|first=D. |orig-year=2009|contribution= Russet Sparrow (Passer rutilans)|editor= del Hoyo, J.|editor2= Elliott, A.|editor3= Sargatal, J.|editor4= Christie, D.A.|editor5= de Juana, E. |year=2013|title=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive|publisher=Lynx Edicions|location=Barcelona|contribution-url=http://www.hbw.com/node/60930 |access-date= 6 September 2014}}

Two subspecies are recognized:

• P. c. castanopterus Blyth, 1855 – Djibouti, Somaliland, and eastern Ethiopia
• P. c. fulgens Friedmann, 1931 – southern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya (south to Kapedo and Marsabit).

File:Somali Sparrow specimen RWD.jpg in Kenya]]