Kenya Sparrow
Passer rufocinctus Fischer & Reichenow, 1884
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Kenya sparrow (Passer rufocinctus), also known as the Kenya rufous sparrow, is a sparrow found in Kenya and Tanzania. It tends to be found in dry wooded savannah and agricultural areas. Some authorities have lumped the great sparrow (P. motitensis), the Kenya sparrow, and the Socotra sparrow (P. insularis) into P. motitensis following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993). Some authorities also lump Shelley's sparrow and the Kordofan sparrow with this species, or all three with the great sparrow.
Wikipedia contributors, Kenya sparrow; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:28:47.863223+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Passer rufocinctus Fischer & Reichenow, 1884
- Name authority
- Fischer & Reichenow, 1884
- Common name
- Kenya Sparrow
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passeridae
- Genus
- Passer
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPasseridae Rafinesque, 1815
- genusPasser Brisson, 1760
- speciesPasser rufocinctus Fischer & Reichenow, 1884
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Passer. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Saxaul SparrowPasser ammodendri Gould, 1872 | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Passer cordofanicus Heuglin, 1871 | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| House SparrowPasser domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Arabian Golden SparrowPasser euchlorus (Bonaparte, 1850) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Plain-backed SparrowPasser flaveolus Blyth, 1845 | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Parrot-billed SparrowPasser gongonensis (Oustalet, 1890) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Northern Grey-headed SparrowPasser griseus (Vieillot, 1817) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Socotra SparrowPasser insularis P. L. Sclater & Hartlaub, 1881 | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Passer italiae (Vieillot, 1817) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cape SparrowPasser melanurus (Statius Muller, 1776) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dead Sea SparrowPasser moabiticus Tristram, 1864 | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eurasian SparrowPasser montanus (Linnaeus, 1758) | PasseridaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=561888 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:4DXY7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.