Editing Rock sparrow

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{other uses|Petronia (disambiguation)}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Petronia petronia -Ariege, Midi-Pyrenee, France-8-4c.jpg
| image_caption = In Ariege, Midi-Pyrenee, France
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Petronia petronia'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22718307A88032500 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22718307A88032500.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| parent_authority = [[Johann Jakob Kaup|Kaup]], 1829
| taxon = Petronia petronia
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1766)
| synonyms = * ''Fringilla petronia'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766}}
}}

The '''rock sparrow''' or '''rock petronia''' ('''''Petronia petronia''''') is a small [[passerine]] bird in the sparrow family [[Passeridae]]. It is the only member of the genus ''Petronia''. It breeds on barren rocky hills from the [[Iberian Peninsula]] and western north Africa across southern Europe and through the [[Palearctic]]  Siberia and north and central China. It is largely resident in the west of its range, but Asian birds [[bird migration|migrate]] to more southerly areas, or move down the mountains.

==Taxonomy==
The first [[Species description|formal description]] of the rock sparrow was by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1766 in the [[12th edition of Systema Naturae|twelfth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]''. He introduced the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Fringilla petronia''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1766 | title=Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | edition=12th | volume=1, Part 1 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii  | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | page=322 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/42946518 }}</ref> It is now the only species in the genus ''Petronia'' that was introduced by the German naturalist [[Johann Jakob Kaup]] in 1829.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Kaup | first=Johann Jakob | author-link=Johann Jakob Kaup | year=1829 | title=Skizzirte Entwickelungs-Geschichte und Naturliches System der Europaischen Thierwelt | volume=c. 1 | language=de | place=Darmstadt | publisher=Carl Wilhelm Leske | page=158 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41576581 }}</ref><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> ''Petronia'' is a local name for the rock sparrow from the [[Bologna]] area of Italy.<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title=The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997 | url-access=limited | publisher=Christopher Helm | location =London | isbn=978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/helmdictionarysc00jobl_997/page/n300 300] }}</ref>

Seven [[subspecies]] are recognised:<ref name=ioc/>
* ''P. p. petronia'' (Linnaeus, 1766) – Madeira and Canary Islands, south Europe to west Turkey
* ''P. p. barbara'' [[Carlo von Erlanger|Erlanger]], 1899 – northwest Africa
* ''P. p. puteicola'' Festa, 1894 – south Turkey to Jordan
* ''P. p. exigua'' ([[Carl Eduard Hellmayr|Hellmayr]], 1902) – central Turkey to the Caucasus, north Iran and north Iraq
* ''P. p. kirhizica'' [[Petr Sushkin|Sushkin]], 1925 – Caspian Sea to Kyrgyzstan
* ''P. p. intermedia'' [[Ernst Hartert|Hartert]], 1901 – Iran and north Afghanistan to northwest China
* ''P. p. brevirostris'' [[Władysław Taczanowski|Taczanowski]], 1874 – Mongolia, south central Siberia and north and central China

Some species have once been classified under Petronia, specifically from the related genus Gymnoris (''[[Petronia superciliaris]], [[Petronia dentata]], [[Petronia xanthocollis]]'') and Carpospiza (''[[Petronia brachydactyla]]'').

==Description==
The rock sparrow is similar in size to a [[house sparrow]] but with a larger more conical bill.{{sfn|Cramp|1994|p=371}} It is around {{cvt|14|cm}} in length, with a strong whitish [[supercilium]] and weaker crown stripe. It has a patterned brown back and wings, streaked underparts, and a diagnostic, but hard-to-see, yellow throat spot. ''Petronia petronia'' are monochromatic, with a distinctive yellow patch on their upper breast that starkly contrasts the earth tones of their plumage. This [[carotenoid]]-based trait is present in both sexes, and plays an important role during the breeding season, signalling both attractiveness and social status.<ref name=garcia>{{cite journal| last1=García-Navas | first1=V. | last2=del Rincón | first2=A.G. | last3=Ferrer  | first3=E.S. | last4=Fathi | first4=H. | year=2013 |title=Mating strategies, parental investment and mutual ornamentation in Iberian Rock Sparrows (''Petronia petronia'') | journal=Behaviour |volume=150 |issue=14| pages=1641–663 | doi=10.1163/1568539x-00003112}}</ref> This bird has a loud wheezy song.

==Distribution and habitat==
It is a rare vagrant north of its breeding range. There is just a single record from Great Britain, at [[Cley next the Sea|Cley]], [[Norfolk]] on 14 June 1981.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Gantlett | first1=S.J.M. | last2=Millington | first2=R.G. | year=1983 | title=Rock Sparrow: new to Britain and Ireland | journal=British Birds | volume=76 | issue=6 | pages=245–247 | url=https://britishbirds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/article_files/V76/V76_N06/V76_N06_P245_247_A066.pdf }}</ref> This gregarious bird is also found in human settlements in suitable country.

==Behaviour==
[[File:Petronia petronia MHNT.ZOO.2007.11.210.jpg|thumb|Eggs, from the collection of the [[MHNT]]]]

===Breeding===
It nests in crevices in rocks or walls, laying four to five [[bird egg|eggs]].{{sfn|Cramp|1994|p=396}} Rock sparrows exhibit a variety of mating patterns, most notably monogamy and sequential and simultaneous [[Polyandry in animals|polyandry]]; however, social monogamy is the most abundant mating pattern. The frequencies of these various mating patterns most likely vary with numerous ecological and social factors. Many studies have shown that both males and females prefer a mate with a larger yellow patch. It has also been shown that male brood defence behaviours increase with greater female ornamentation. Males also differentially allocate parental investment according to female ornamentation; this behaviour is not observed in females. In alpine colonies of ''Petronia petronia'', females perform most of the provisioning. In Asian colonies, both males and females contribute equally to the care of the young. Males of larger sizes feed their young at higher rates, which suggests that larger males occupy better territories and/or are better fathers. Studies have found a positive correlation between male yellow breast patch size and nestling tarsus length, which suggests that more ornamented males are also better parents. Females increase the number of non-feeding visits to their nest as the season progresses, suggesting that because females have lesser opportunities to lay other clutches, it is most advantageous to support the survival of their current offspring. A positive relationship between the number of deserting females and the number of available males has been recorded.<ref name=garcia/>

===Food and feeding===
The rock sparrow mainly forages on the ground. It eats seeds throughout the year and berries in autumn. In the spring its diet includes invertebrates, particularly caterpillars and grasshoppers. These are also fed to the young.{{sfn|Cramp|1994|p=374}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
*{{ cite book | editor1-last=Cramp | editor1-first=Stanley | display-authors=etal | editor1-link=Stanley Cramp | year=1994 | chapter=''Petronia petronia'' Rock Sparrow| title=Handbook of the birds of Europe the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Palearctic. Volume VIII: Crows to Finches | place=Oxford | publisher=Oxford University Press | pages=371–385 | isbn=978-0-19-854679-5 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Petronia petronia}}
*[http://www.madeirabirds.com/rock_sparrow Rock sparrow] at Madeira Birds
*[http://www.oiseaux.net/birds/photos/rock.sparrow.html Photos] at Oiseaux
*[http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/422_RockSparrowP.petronia.pdf Ageing and sexing by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze] (PDF; 1.1 MB)

{{Passeridae}}
{{Passeroidea|P.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q736313}}

[[Category:Petronia|rock sparrow]]
[[Category:Birds of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Birds of North Africa]]
[[Category:Birds of Macaronesia]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1766|rock sparrow]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|rock sparrow]]