Southern Gray-headed Sparrow

SCI Name:  Passer diffusus
Protonym:  Pyrgita diffusa Rep.Exped.Centr.Afr. p.50
Taxonomy:  Passeriformes / Passeridae / Passer
Taxonomy Code:  sghspa2
Type Locality:  between the Orange River and the tropic ; restricted to near Kuruman by Maedonald and Hall (1957, Ann. Transvaal Mus., 23, p. 35).
Author:  Smith, A
Publish Year:  1836
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

PASSER
(Passeridae; Ϯ House Sparrow P. domesticus) L. passer, passeris  sparrow; "Rostro in apicem crassum & brevem exeunte; { Rostri basi capiti latitudine multo cedente. . . . . .Passer. Genus 33.   ...   XXXIII. Genus Passerinum.  Le genre du Moineau.  ...  1. LE MOINEAU FRANC  ...  PASSER DOMESTICUS.  ...  Ils se nourrissent de graines & d'Insectes. Ils font leur nid dans les trous des murs." (Brisson 1760): based on "Passer" and "Passer domesticus" of many authors (Brisson lists over 20 species and forms of 'Moineau'); "Passer Brisson, 1760, Orn., 1, p. 36 [; 3, p. 71]. Type, by subsequent designation (Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, ed. 1, p. 46), Fringilla domestica Linnaeus." (Greenway in Peters 1962, XV, 8).  No thanks to positive introduction, the House Sparrow, with a natural Palaearctic and western Indomalayan range, is now found throughout the world as a commensal of man. If the New Zealand wrens (Acanthisittiformes) and the tyrants and allies (Subosciniformes) are separated from the Passeriformes sens. lat. the remaining species could be titled Osciniformes.
Synon. Ammopasser, Auripasser, Caffropasser, Chrysospiza, Corospiza, Leucophrya, Megapasser, Pseudostruthus, Pyrgita, Pyrgitopsis, Salicipasser, Sorella.

passer
L. passer, passeris  sparrow.

diffusa / diffusus
L. diffusus  diffuse, extensive  < diffundere  to spread.

SUBSPECIES

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow (diffusus)
SCI Name: Passer diffusus diffusus
diffusa / diffusus
L. diffusus  diffuse, extensive  < diffundere  to spread.

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow (luangwae)
SCI Name: Passer diffusus luangwae
luangwae
Luangwa Valley, Northern Rhodesia (= Zambia).

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow (mosambicus)
SCI Name: Passer diffusus mosambicus
mosambica / mosambicus
Mozambique  < Portuguese Ilha de Moçambique, a thriving Arab port at the time of Vasco da Gama's visit  < Ali Musa ibn Mbiki (fl. 1498) local sultan.

Southern Gray-headed Sparrow (stygiceps)
SCI Name: Passer diffusus stygiceps
stygiceps
L. stygius  stygian, dismal (i.e. dark)  < myth. Styx, Stygis, a river in the infernal regions, the lower world; -ceps  -headed  < caput, capitis  head.