Wikipedia:Today's featured article/August 28, 2018

The Sind sparrow (Passer pyrrhonotus) is a bird of the sparrow family, Passeridae, found around the Indus valley region in South Asia. Very similar to the house sparrow, it is smaller and has distinguishing plumage features. This species was long thought to be very closely related to the house sparrow, but its closest evolutionary affinities may lie elsewhere. The male has brighter plumage than female and young birds; it has black markings, a grey crown, and a chestnut stripe running down its head behind the eye. The female has a darker head than other sparrow species do. Its main vocalisations are soft chirping calls that are extended into longer songs. Within its Indus valley breeding range in Pakistan and western India, the Sind sparrow is patchily distributed in riverine and wetland habitats with thorny scrub and tall grass. During the non-breeding season, some birds migrate into western Pakistan and the extreme east of Iran. This fairly common species has been expanding its range.