Great Rufous Sparrow
Great Rufous SparrowGreat Rufous SparrowGreat Rufous SparrowGreat Rufous Sparrow

Great Rufous Sparrow

Passer motitensis

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Insufficient data
overall probability at Kruger National Park
1 Verified records at Kruger National Park
☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

The great sparrow (Passer motitensis), also known as the southern rufous sparrow, is found in southern Africa in dry, wooded savannah and towns. This is a 15–16 cm long sparrow superficially like a large house sparrow. It has a grey crown and rear neck and rufous upperparts. While in the past some authorities considered this species and several related species of 'rufous sparrow' on the African mainland to be the same as the Iago sparrow of Cape Verde, they do not appear to be so closely related as thought. A few currently recognise only some of the rufous sparrows as separate from the great sparrow, but the Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International recognise the Socotra sparrow, Kenya sparrow, Kordofan sparrow, and Shelley's sparrow as separate species. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Kruger National Park

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow
LC

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Passer diffusus

40–50% · Likely
Cape Sparrow
LC Endemic

Cape Sparrow

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Passer melanurus

<5% · Rare
Yellow-throated Sparrow
LC

Yellow-throated Sparrow

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Gymnoris superciliaris

5–10% · With luck
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
LC

White-browed Sparrow-Weaver

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Plocepasser mahali

<5% · Rare
Fork-tailed Drongo
LC

Fork-tailed Drongo

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Dicrurus adsimilis

60–70% · Likely
Common Bulbul
LC

Common Bulbul

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Pycnonotus barbatus

50–60% · Likely
Red-billed Oxpecker

Red-billed Oxpecker

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buphagus erythrorhynchus

50–60% · Likely
Blue-breasted Cordonbleu
LC

Blue-breasted Cordonbleu

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Uraeginthus angolensis

40–50% · Likely
Magpie Shrike

Magpie Shrike

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Urolestes melanoleucus

40–50% · Likely
Black-backed Puffback
LC

Black-backed Puffback

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Dryoscopus cubla

40–50% · Likely
Burchell's Glossy-starling
LC

Burchell's Glossy-starling

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lamprotornis australis

40–50% · Likely
Red-shouldered Glossy-starling
LC

Red-shouldered Glossy-starling

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Lamprotornis nitens

40–50% · Likely

📅 Monthly Probability

📊

Fewer than 5 records of Great Rufous Sparrow at Kruger National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal
☀️🌙🌙12am6am12pm6pm12am

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Probability
1 Etosha National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
20–30%
2 Namib-Naukluft National Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
5–10%
3 Pilanesberg National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
5–10%
4 Kruger National Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
5 Waterberg Plateau Park 🇳🇦 Namibia
Insufficient data
6 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park 🇿🇦 South Africa
Insufficient data
7 Chobe National Park 🇧🇼 Botswana
Insufficient data
8 Moremi Game Reserve 🇧🇼 Botswana
Insufficient data
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