Sahel Bush Sparrow

Gymnoris dentata (Sundevall, 1850)

Sahel Bush Sparrow, Gymnoris dentata, is a passerine of the Sahel zone in Africa and south-western Yemen, living in arid lands, dry woods and fields from southern Mauritania and Guinea east to northern Eritrea, western and central Ethiopia, and South Sudan. It is a member of the Old World sparrows and snowfinches. Also known as bush petronia, it is a small bird with a stout, conical bill and a short tail. The male shows a grey crown, a broad reddish-brown eyebrow, and a creamy-white bib, with the bill black in the breeding season.

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Passeridae — Old World Sparrows, Snowfinches

Breeding range

Africa: Sahel zone and sw Arabian Pen. in aridlands, drywoods and fields: s Mauritania to Guinea and e to n Eritrea, w, c Ethiopia and South Sudan; also sw Yemen