Editing Old World sparrow (section)

==Taxonomy and systematics==
[[File:Sparrowchick.JPG|thumb|upright|A sparrow chick]]
[[File:MontifringillaAdamsiGould.jpg|thumb|upright|Painting of [[black-winged snowfinch]]es]]

The family Passeridae was introduced (as Passernia) by the French [[polymath]] [[Constantine Samuel Rafinesque]] in 1815.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Rafinesque | first=Constantine Samuel | author-link=Constantine Samuel Rafinesque | year=1815 | title=Analyse de la nature ou, Tableau de l'univers et des corps organisés | volume=1815 | publisher=Self-published | place=Palermo | language=fr | page=68 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48310146 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and Nomenclature of Avian Family-Group Names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History | volume= 222 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | place=New York | pages=157, 252 | hdl=2246/830 }}<!--Linked page allows download of the 48MB pdf--></ref> Under the classification used in the ''[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]]'' (''HBW'') main groupings of the sparrows are the true sparrows (genus ''[[Passer]]''), the [[snowfinch]]es (typically one genus, ''Montifringilla''), and the rock sparrows (''[[Petronia]]'' and the [[pale rockfinch]]). These groups are similar to each other, and are each fairly homogeneous, especially ''Passer''.<ref name=HBW/> Some classifications also include the sparrow-weavers (''[[Plocepasser]]'') and several other African genera (otherwise classified among the [[weaver (bird)|weavers]], Ploceidae)<ref name=HBW/> which are morphologically similar to ''Passer''.<ref name="Fjeldså"/> According to a study of molecular and skeletal evidence by [[Jon Fjeldså]] and colleagues, the [[cinnamon ibon]] of the Philippines, previously considered to be a [[white-eye]], is a sister taxon to the sparrows as defined by the ''HBW''. They therefore classify it as its own subfamily within Passeridae.<ref name="Fjeldså">{{Cite journal | last1 = Fjeldså | first1 = J. | last2 = Irestedt | first2 = M. | last3 = Ericson | first3 = P. G. P. | last4 = Zuccon | first4 = D. | title = The Cinnamon Ibon ''Hypocryptadius cinnamomeus'' is a forest canopy sparrow | doi = 10.1111/j.1474-919X.2010.01053.x | journal = Ibis | volume = 152 | issue = 4 | pages = 747–760 | year = 2010 | url = http://www.nrm.se/download/18.3ebfe5cf12a9d3ebacb80004366/Fjelds%C3%A5+et+al+2010+Cinnamon.pdf | access-date = 2015-09-04 | archive-date = 2017-08-10 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170810015706/http://www.nrm.se/download/18.3ebfe5cf12a9d3ebacb80004366/Fjelds%C3%A5%20et%20al%202010%20Cinnamon.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Many early classifications of the Old World sparrows placed them as close relatives of the weavers among the various families of small seed-eating birds, based on the similarity of their breeding behaviour, bill structure, and moult, among other characters. Some, starting with P. P. Suskin in the 1920s, placed the sparrows in the weaver family as the subfamily Passerinae, and tied them to ''Plocepasser''. Another family sparrows were classed with was the [[finch]]es (Fringillidae).<ref name=HBW/>

Some authorities previously classified the related [[estrildid finch]]es of the Old World [[tropics]] and [[Australasia]] as members of the Passeridae. Like sparrows, the estrildid finches are small, gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short, thick, but pointed bills. They are broadly similar in structure and habits, but tend to be very colourful and vary greatly in their [[plumage]]. The 2008 Christidis and Boles [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomic]] scheme lists the estrildid finches as the separate family Estrildidae, leaving just the true sparrows{{Clarify|date=May 2012}}<!-- meaning just Passer? --> in Passeridae.<ref name=CB08>{{harvnb|Christidis|Boles|2008|p=177}}</ref>

Despite some resemblance such as the seed-eater's bill and frequently well-marked heads, [[New World sparrow]]s  are members of a different family, [[Passerellidae]], with 29 genera recognised.<ref>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=January 2021 | title=New World Sparrows, Bush Tanagers | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/sparrows/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=2 June 2021 }}</ref> Several species in this family are notable singers. New World sparrows are related to Old World buntings, and until 2017, were included in the Old World bunting family [[Emberizidae]].<ref>American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. ''Check-list of North American Birds''. 7th edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.</ref><ref name=AOS>{{cite journal |title=Fifty-eighth supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds |author1=R. Terry Chesser |author2=Kevin J. Burns |author3=Carla Cicero |author4=Jon L. Dunn |author5=Andrew W. Kratter |author6=Irby J. Lovette |author7=Pamela C. Rasmussen |author8=J. V. Remsen Jr. |author9=James D. Rising |author10=Douglas F. Stotz |author11=Kevin Winker |journal=Auk |volume=134 |issue=3 |year=2017 |pages=751–773 |doi=10.1642/AUK-17-72.1 |type=Submitted manuscript |doi-access=free }}{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
<ref name=HBW/> The [[hedge sparrow]] or dunnock (''Prunella modularis'') is similarly unrelated. It is a sparrow in name only, a [[relict]] of the old practice of calling more types of small birds "sparrows".<ref>{{harvnb|Summers-Smith|1988|p=13}}</ref> A few further bird species are also called sparrows, such as the [[Java sparrow]], an estrildid finch.

{{Cladogram
|caption=Phylogeny based on a study by Martin Päckert and colleagues published in 2021. The [[monotypic]] genera ''[[Carpospiza]]'' and ''[[Hypocryptadius]]'' were not sampled.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Päckert | first1=M. | last2=Hering | first2=J. | last3=Belkacem | first3=A.A. | last4=Sun | first4=Y.-H. | last5=Hille | first5=S. | last6=Lkhagvasuren | first6=D. | last7=Islam | first7=S. | last8=Martens | first8=J. | date=2021 | title=A revised multilocus phylogeny of Old World sparrows (Aves: Passeridae) | journal=Vertebrate Zoology | volume=71 | pages=353–366 | doi=10.3897/vz.71.e65952 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
|align=centre
|cladogram={{Clade| style=font-size:100%;line-height:100%;width:420px; 
|label1=Passeridae
|1={{clade
   |1={{clade
      |1={{clade
         |1=''[[Gymnoris]]'' – 4 species
         |2=''[[Passer]]'' – 28 species
         }}
      |2={{clade
         |1=''[[Petronia]]'' – [[rock sparrow]]
         |2={{clade
            |1=''[[Onychostruthus]]'' – [[white-rumped snowfinch]]
            |2={{clade
               |1=''[[Montifringilla]]'' – 3 species
               |2=''[[Pyrgilauda]]'' – 4 species
               }}
            }}
         }}
      }}
   }}
}}
}}

=== Species ===
The family contains 43 [[species]] divided into eight genera:<ref name=ioc>{{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 8.1 | url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/weavers/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=8 May 2018 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Genus  !! Living species
|-
|[[File:Cinnamon Ibon (cropped2).jpg|120px]]
|''[[Hypocryptadius]]''  || 
*[[Cinnamon ibon]] (''Hypocryptadius cinnamomeus'')
|-
|[[File:Carpospiza brachydactyla (cropped).jpg|120px]]
|''[[Carpospiza]]''
|
*[[Pale rockfinch]] (''Carpospiza brachydactyla'')
|-
|[[File:Petronia petronia -Ariege, Midi-Pyrenee, France-8-4c.jpg|120px]]
|''[[Petronia]]''
|
*[[Rock sparrow]] (''Petronia petronia'')
|-
|[[File:White-rumped Snowfinch north Sikkim India 15.10.2019.jpg|120px]]
|''[[Onychostruthus]]''
|
*[[White-rumped snowfinch]] (''Onychostruthus taczanowskii'')
|-
|[[File:A Tibetan Snowfinch juvenile - Tso Moriri, Ladakh, Jammu Kashmir India.jpg|120px]]
|''[[Montifringilla]]''
|
*[[Tibetan snowfinch]] (''Montifringilla henrici'')
*[[White-winged snowfinch]] (''Montifringilla nivalis'')
*[[Black-winged snowfinch]] (''Montifringilla adamsi'')
|-
|[[File:Rufous-necked Snowfinch Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary East Sikkim India 18.10.2015.jpg|120px]]
|''[[Pyrgilauda]]''
|
*[[Afghan snowfinch]] (''Pyrgilauda theresae'')
*[[Rufous-necked snowfinch]] (''Pyrgilauda ruficollis'')
*[[Père David's snowfinch]] (''Pyrgilauda davidiana'')
*[[Blanford's snowfinch]] (''Pyrgilauda blanfordi'')
|-
|[[File:Chestnut-shouldered petronia IMG 4865.jpg|120px]]
|''[[Gymnoris]]''
|
*[[Yellow-spotted bush sparrow]] (''Gymnoris pyrgita'')
*[[Yellow-throated bush sparrow]] (''Gymnoris superciliaris'')
*[[Sahel bush sparrow]] (''Gymnoris dentata'')
*[[Yellow-throated sparrow]] (''Gymnoris xanthocollis'')
|-
|[[File:Passer domesticus male (15).jpg|120px]]|| ''[[Passer]]'', the true sparrows ||
*[[Cape sparrow]] (''Passer melanurus'')
*[[Chestnut sparrow]] (''Passer eminibey'')
*[[Kordofan sparrow]] (''Passer cordofanicus'')
*[[Shelley's sparrow]] (''Passer shelleyi'')
*[[Kenya sparrow]] (''Passer rufocinctus'')
*[[Great sparrow]] (''Passer motitensis'')
*[[Northern grey-headed sparrow]] (''Passer griseus'')
*[[Swainson's sparrow]] (''Passer swainsonii'')
*[[Swahili sparrow]] (''Passer suahelicus'')
*[[Parrot-billed sparrow]] (''Passer gongonensis'')
*[[Southern grey-headed sparrow]] (''Passer diffusus'')
*[[Sind sparrow]] (''Passer pyrrhonotus'')
*[[Russet sparrow]] (''Passer cinnamomeus'')
*[[Eurasian tree sparrow]] (''Passer montanus'')
*[[Saxaul sparrow]] (''Passer ammodendri'')
*[[Plain-backed sparrow]] (''Passer flaveolus'')
*[[Abd al-Kuri sparrow]] (''Passer hemileucus'')
*[[Socotra sparrow]] (''Passer insularis'')
*[[Spanish sparrow]] (''Passer hispaniolensis'')
*[[Italian sparrow]] (''Passer italiae'')
*[[House sparrow]] (''Passer domesticus'')
*[[Somali sparrow]] (''Passer castanopterus'')
*[[Iago sparrow]] (''Passer iagoensis'')
*[[Desert sparrow]] (''Passer simplex'')
*[[Zarudny's sparrow]] (''Passer zarudnyi'')
*[[Arabian golden sparrow]] (''Passer euchlorus'')
*[[Sudan golden sparrow]] (''Passer luteus'')
*[[Dead Sea sparrow]] (''Passer moabiticus'')
|-
|}