---
title: "Cape Sparrow"
description: "Passer melanurus — Birds. The Cape sparrow (Passer melanurus), or mossie, is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae found in southern Africa."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/cape-sparrow
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Cape Sparrow

> Passer melanurus — Birds. The Cape sparrow (Passer melanurus), or mossie, is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae found in southern Africa.

- Scientific name: *Passer melanurus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `urban` (Towns & gardens), `farm` (Farm), `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 8532
- Wikidata: [Q663335](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q663335)
- iNaturalist taxon: [13853](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13853)

## Names

- en: Cape Sparrow
- de: Kapsperling
- es: Gorrión de El Cabo
- fr: Moineau mélanure
- pt: Pardal-do-cabo
- pl: Wróbel czarnogłowy

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (7275), NA (785), BW (54), LS (42), AO (4)

## Summary

The Cape sparrow (Passer melanurus), or mossie, is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae found in southern Africa. A medium-sized sparrow at 14–16 centimetres (5.5–6.3 in), it has distinctive plumage, including large pale head stripes in both sexes. Its plumage is mostly grey, brown, and chestnut, and the male has some bold black and white markings on its head and neck. The species inhabits semi-arid savannah, cultivated areas, and towns, and ranges from the central coast of Angola to eastern South Africa and Eswatini. Three subspecies are distinguished in different parts of its range.
Cape sparrows primarily eat…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_sparrow

## Photo

![Cape Sparrow](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/cape-sparrow/medium.jpg)

Photo: Leslie W. Powrie CT ZA · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/55598853

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/cape-sparrow?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).