Shelley's Rufous Sparrow
Passer shelleyi
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyPasseridae (Passèrids)
- GenusPasser (True Sparrows)
- SpeciesPasser shelleyi (Shelley's Rufous Sparrow)
Shelley's sparrow (Passer shelleyi), also known as Shelley's rufous sparrow or the White Nile rufous sparrow, is a sparrow found in eastern Africa from South Sudan, southern Ethiopia, and north-western Somalia to northern Uganda and north-western Kenya. Formerly, it was considered as a subspecies of the Kenya sparrow. This species is named after English geologist and ornithologist George Ernest Shelley. Wikipedia →
20–30% of wildlife watchers report a Shelley's Rufous Sparrow sighting in Murchison Falls National Park, based on 231 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Murchison Falls National Park
Northern Grey-headed Sparrow
Passer griseus
Chestnut Sparrow
Passer eminibey
Chestnut-crowned Sparrow-Weaver
Plocepasser superciliosus
White-browed Sparrow-Weaver
Plocepasser mahali
Gray-headed Social-Weaver
Pseudonigrita arnaudi
Piapiac
Ptilostomus afer
Rüppell's Glossy-starling
Lamprotornis purpuroptera
Red-cheeked Cordon-bleu
Uraeginthus bengalus
Common Bulbul
Pycnonotus barbatus
Black-headed Gonolek
Laniarius erythrogaster
Silverbird
Empidornis semipartitus
Grey-backed Fiscal
Lanius excubitoroides
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
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 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 2 | Kidepo Valley National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 3 | Queen Elizabeth National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda |
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Shelley's Rufous Sparrow in Murchison Falls National Park?
About 23% of wildlife watchers report a Shelley's Rufous Sparrow sighting in Murchison Falls National Park, based on 231 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Shelley's Rufous Sparrow in Murchison Falls National Park?
June has the highest sighting rate for Shelley's Rufous Sparrow in Murchison Falls National Park in our monthly data.