Northern grey-headed sparrow

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The northern grey-headed sparrow, also called the grey-headed sparrow (Passer griseus), is a small bird that lives across tropical Africa. It favors open places, open woodlands, and areas near people, similar to how house sparrows live in Europe and Asia.

Adult birds have a pale grey head with a white moustache stripe, pale brown back, white underparts, and chestnut wings with a small white shoulder patch. Males and females look alike, while young birds are duller and lack the white wing patch. There are three subspecies that differ mainly in how dark the head is.

The sparrow mostly stays in its range but can move a little with the seasons. Flocks of up to about 50 birds may gather outside the breeding season. It builds a cup-shaped nest in trees, thatch, or in old nests of other birds, and lays 2–4 eggs.

Its diet is mainly seeds and grain, but it will also eat insects, including termites, especially when feeding young. Its calls include cheeps and chirps, plus the familiar sparrow alarm sound.

In eastern and southern Africa, similar birds exist that are sometimes treated as races of this species, such as Swainson's sparrow, the parrot-billed sparrow, the Swahili sparrow, and the southern grey-headed sparrow. The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.