Desert Sparrow
Photo: Francesco Veronesi from Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0

Snowfinches and Old World Sparrows

Desert Sparrow

Passer simplex

LCLeast Concern
Family
Snowfinches and Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)
Order
Passeriformes

Overview

The desert sparrow (Passer simplex) is a species of bird in the sparrow family Passeridae, found in the Sahara Desert of northern Africa. A similar bird, Zarudny's sparrow, is found in Central Asia and was historically recognised as a subspecies of the desert sparrow, but varies in a number of ways and is now recognised as a separate species by BirdLife International, the IOC World Bird List, and the Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive.
The desert sparrow has two subspecies which occur in some of driest parts of the Sahara Desert in Northern Africa. This species is becoming scarcer as a result of habitat destruction, but it is assessed on the IUCN Red List as being of least concern for conservation.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.