Russet Sparrow

The russet sparrow, also called the cinnamon sparrow, is a chunky little seed-eating bird, 14 to 15cm long and weighing 18 to 22.5g, with warm rufous plumage above and grey below and a thick bill. The sexes are patterned much like the house sparrow's, and the bill is black on the breeding male, horn-coloured on the non-breeding male and yellowish with a dark tip on the female (Wikipedia, general species account).

In the Himalayas it breeds from the far north-east of India through south-eastern Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh to Kashmir and Nuristan; in Bhutan it nests in holes in the outer walls of monasteries, often alongside the tree sparrow. The Himalayan form is usually associated with terrace cultivation. It feeds mainly on the seeds of herbs and grains, plus berries and insects, making it a minor agricultural pest but also a predator of insect pests.