Desert Sparrow (Passer simplex) [XC216182]
by Cedric Mroczko from Ksar Ghilane, Douz, K\u00e9bili, Tunisia (call, song)
Desert Sparrow (Passer simplex) [XC121855]
by Tero Linjama from Erg Chebbi, Morocco (call, song)
Subspecies
Passer simplex (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) has been split into Desert Sparrow (Passer simplex) and Zarudny's Sparrow (Passer zarudnyi) following Kirwan et al. (2009): this treatment is under review by the BirdLife International.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
saharae Erlanger, 1899 - North-western Sahara Desert east to western Libya, southern at least to southern Algeria (Ahaggar) and Chad.
simplex (Lichtenstein, 1823) - Southern Sahara from Mauritania and Mali east to southern Egypt and Sudan.
zarudnyi Pleske, 1896 - Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Zarudny's Sparrow (Passer zarudnyi).