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Ancestor: Passer domesticus (House Sparrow)

Descendants: Bee-eating Sparrows
Hemp Tree Sparrows
Beardbirds
Sudden Sparrow
Shrubland Pigerro
Forest Pigerro
Dartfisher

Size: 14 cm long

Dietary Needs: Mixed diet of invertebrates  such as bees and gnats, fruit, grains and flowers. They also  use their speedy reflexes to snatch water prey from  the river's edge at calmer parts of the river, such as river snails or small fish. As adults, they give away all of their invertebrate prey to their chicks of they have any. The chicks are brought up almost entirely on invertebrates. Also, they are high metabolism birds that don't deal well with a fast, so nearly all of their time in winter is consumed by foraging for insects and grubs that are trying to hide from the cold.

Life Cycle: Males and females mate for life, but females typically have back-up suitors due to the male's higher rate of mortality. It's the male's ability to survive in spite of his bright colouration that makes him an attractive mate. If a male dies and he leaves behind chicks, the next suitor will kill and dispose of the chicks next time the female goes to forage. This hastens the male's opportunity to breed. However because it's a species-wide trait and not just a personality characteristic, it also requires that he lives long enough to see raising them through to the end, or else they might get killed by another male.

Without interruption they can produce up to four broods in a year. 

Other: They are very speedy, energetic birds and live short lives. They are shy. The high-pitched chirps heard long before the birds are seen, even though the male is brightly coloured. They like foraging in shrubs and in leaf litter under the densely matted, darkly shaded shrubbery. However, they are sometimes adventurous especially when catching insects. Sometimes they zip out from their hiding spot with great agility utilizing their fast reflexes to pluck an insect from the air, such as a bee, moth or butterfly, and just as quickly return to the leafy shadows with their prize.

Their quick reflexes help keep them from being caught by cats, too. An individual bird may have many pounce attempts made upon it by cats, but without actually getting caught because their reaction time in response to sensory stimuli of danger is so quick. When they flee, they make a harsh, buzzing trill that is heard by all nearby birds (many of which are offspring, grand-offspring, mate, etc). This sound is also made when a bird generally sees a cat or cat-like shape, though it may also be used deceptively to trick a competitor away from a food source. The deceiver, knowing there's really no cat, takes what the other bird was having while the other bird is still alarmed and scared.  This  behaviour is ultimately harmful for the group even though it selfishly benefits that one individual many times over.  Over time that individual's alarm call becomes less trusted, which spells disaster when that one individual makes the alarm for real, and the other birds ignore it.

A disadvantage to their quick evolution towards faster metabolisms is that the bird can sometimes die of fright, making the hunt very easy for the cat. This is rare overall, but more common than in other bird species on Planet Cat Sanctuary.