Yellow-throated sparrow

{{Speciesbox

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2019 |title=Gymnoris xanthocollis |volume=2019 |page=e.T22718294A155508722 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T22718294A155508722.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}

| image = Yellow-throated sparrow (Petronia xanthocollis) by Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg

| image_caption = From India

| taxon = Gymnoris xanthocollis

| authority = (Burton, 1838)

| synonyms = * Fringilla flavicollis Franklin, 1831 (preoccupied)

Fringilla xanthocollis E. Burton, 1838
Petronia xanthocollis (E. Burton, 1838) Blyth, 1845
Fringilla xanthosterna Bonaparte, 1850

| synonyms_ref = {{cite journal|author=Gregory, S. M. S. |year=2006|title= Systematic notes on Asian birds. 57. The authorship of the generic name Gymnoris|journal= Zoologische Mededelingen|location= Leiden |volume=80|issue=5|pages=185–188|url=http://www.zoologischemededelingen.nl/80/nr05/a11}}

}}

The yellow-throated sparrow or chestnut-shouldered petronia (Gymnoris xanthocollis) is a species of sparrow found in southern Asia. It is a species mostly of the dry savannah. They forage on the ground for grain and for berries in bushes. They are often seen perched atop bare branches on trees while calling.

Description

File:Another pose of Chestnut-shouldered Petronia, Nagpur by Dr. Tejinder Singh Rawal.jpg

It has a finer bill than typical sparrows of the genus Passer and unlike them has no streaks on the plumage. The white double wing bar on the shoulder is diagnostic on the otherwise dull grey-brown sparrow. Males have a chestnut shoulder patch which can sometimes be hard to see. They also have a pale yellow spot on the throat in fresh plumage. Females are duller and lack the chestnut shoulder patch. The yellow spot is much reduced or lacking in females.

This species is tree-loving although sometimes seen on wires and on the ground, where it has a hopping gait. The usual call is a chirrup but the song is distinctive and repetitive {{not a typo|chilp chalp cholp}}. It has a bounding flight and dips deeply before rising up.{{cite book|author1=Clement, P. |author2=Harris, Alan |author3=Davis, John |year=1999|title=Finches and Sparrows|publisher= Princeton University Press|page=469}}

Taxonomy

This species has sometimes been lumped along with the yellow-spotted petronia (Petronia pyrgita) of Africa.{{cite book|author1=Rasmussen, P. C. |author2=Anderton, J. C. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005|title=Birds of South Asia: the Ripley Guide.|publisher=Smithsonian Institution and Lynx Edicions|volume=2|page=576}}

Currently, two subspecies are recognized:{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2018 | title=Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers | work=World Bird List Version 8.2 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/weavers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=1 November 2018 }}

G. x. transfuga described by Hartert from the type locality of Bagu Kelat, eastern Baluchistan, a pale desert form found from south-eastern Turkey and south-eastern Iraq to Baluchistan, Sindh, and south-western Afghanistan.
G. x. xanthocollis described from the type locality of Bengal near the Ganges by Major Edward Burton (1790–1867){{cite book|page=[https://archive.org/details/eponymdictionary00beol/page/n82 66] |title= The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals|url=https://archive.org/details/eponymdictionary00beol |url-access=limited |year=2009|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press| isbn=978-0-8018-9304-9|author1=Beolens, B. |author2=Watkins, M. |author3=Grayson, M. }}{{cite book|author=Burton, Edward |year=1838|title=Catalogue of the Collection of Mammalia and Birds in the Museum of the Army Medical Department, at Fort Pitt, Chatham|url=https://archive.org/details/b24758991 |page=[https://archive.org/details/b24758991/page/23 23]}} and found in north-eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and India.

Behaviour

The species breeds in tree hollows from April to July, often making use of the holes made by primary hole-nesting birds such as barbets and woodpeckers. They may also make use of hollows on buildings. The nest is built mainly by the female, but males may sometimes assist.{{cite book|author1=Ali, S. |author2=Ripley, S. D. |name-list-style=amp |year=1999|title=Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan. Volume 10|edition=2nd|publisher=Oxford University Press|place=New Delhi|pages=81–86}} The female alone incubates the eggs, sometimes leaving the nest during the hotter parts of the day.{{cite journal|title=Observations on the nesting behaviour of yellow throated sparrow|journal=Newsletter for Birdwatchers |pages=4–5|volume=30|issue=7&8|year=1990|author=Misra, M. K.|url = https://archive.org/stream/NLBW30_78#page/n5/mode/1up}} The eggs hatch after about 12 to 14 days.{{cite journal|author=Soni, R. G. |year=1993|title= Breeding of Yellow-throated Sparrow|journal=Newsletter for Birdwatchers |volume=33|issue=3|page=51|url=https://archive.org/stream/NLBW33_3#page/n12/mode/1up/ }}{{cite journal|author=Soni, R. G. |year=1993|title= Breeding of Yellowthroated Sparrow |journal=Newsletter for Birdwatchers |volume=33|issue=4|page=78|url=https://archive.org/stream/NLBW33_4#page/n19/mode/1up}}

They roost communally in low bushes. Some populations are migratory, moving in response to rains.

They feed mainly on grains but also on insects, nectar and berries. An unusual food item is the petals of flowers such as those of Madhuca indica.{{cite journal|author=Bharos, A. M. K. |year=1992|title= Interesting feeding pattern of Yellowthroated Sparrow Petronia xanthocollis (Burton)|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society|volume=89|issue=1|page=128|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48732578}} When they visit flowers such as those of Capparis, Salmalia, Erythrina and Bassia, their foreheads are covered with pollen.

Distribution

The chestnut-shouldered petronia is found from Turkey into Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and as a vagrant in Sri Lanka and possibly parts of Myanmar.{{cite journal|author=Robinson, S. M.|year=1925|title= Nesting of the Yellowthroated Sparrow Gymnoris xanthosterna xanthosterna at Kalan, Shan States|journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=30|issue=2|page=477|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47561886}} It is found in forest, gardens and open scrub habitats.

Inspiration

This species was noted by Salim Ali (1896–1987) as key to his introduction into ornithology. As a young boy he shot a sparrow that looked different, and it was identified for him by W. S. Millard, then secretary of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), who also introduced him to the literature and collections at the museum there.{{cite journal|author=Daniels, R. J. R.|year=2008|title=Can we save the sparrow? |journal=Current Science|volume=95|issue=11|pages= 1527–1528|url=http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/dec102008/1527.pdf}} As a result, Salim Ali ultimately took up ornithology as a profession. In 2003 the BNHS published a tribute to him titled Petronia, the generic name then in use for the yellow-throated sparrow.{{cite book|editor=Daniel, J. C. |editor2=Ugra, G. W.|year=2003|title=Petronia: Fifty Years of Post-Independence Ornithology in India. A Centenary Dedication to Dr. Salim Ali, 1896–1996.|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-566653-4}}

Gallery

File:Chestnut Shouldered Petronia.jpg|Chestnut Shouldered Petronia at Gir Forest National Park

File:Chestnut-shouldered Petronia (Petronia xanthocollis) feeding at Bharatpur I IMG 5258.jpg|Feeding, at Keoladeo National Park

File:Singing Yellow-throated Sparrow.webm|Singing Yellow-throated Sparrow at Malai Mahadeshwara Wildlife Sanctuary

References

External links

[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/chestnut-shouldered-petronia-petronia-xanthocollis Internet Bird Collection]

yellow-throated sparrow

Category:Birds of the Middle East

Category:Birds of South Asia