Passerinae

The Passerinae are a subfamily of the Passeridae. Other subfamilies are the Motacillinae (wagtails and pipits), Prunellinae (accentors), Ploceinae (weavers), and Estrildinae (waxbills). Several of the sparrows are closely associated with human habitation. In Asia the common local sparrow is the Eurasian tree sparrow, Passer montanus.

Chinese: The general word for 'sparrow' is 麻雀 má-què, literally 'flaxen sparrow'. In its unmodified form, this refers to Passer montanus, although Mainland naturalists somewhat pedantically give this species the alternative 'common name' of 树麻雀 shù má-què 'tree sparrow'.

The character 雀 què, originally meaning 'sparrow', is now one of the most widely used characters in bird names, used for many birds completely unrelated to the sparrows. The family 雀科 Què kē refers not to the sparrows but to the finches (Fringillidae). In some cases, notably that of the Green peacock, 雀 is used for a very unpasserine type of bird.

Other species: The rock sparrow has been given the name 石雀 shí-què 'stone sparrow' and the snow finches 雪雀 xuě-què 'snow sparrow/finch'.

Japanese: The Japanese word for 'sparrow' is ズズメ suzume, written with the Chinese character 雀. Unmodified, ズズメ suzume refers to Passer montanus.

Vietnamese: The Vietnamese word for 'sparrow' is Sẻ. Unmodified, this refers to Passer montanus. (Apart from the sparrows, the word is also used in the names of the bushchats and some buntings and finches). P. montanus has a number of local variant names.

The distribution of Passerinae in East Asia can be seen at Tzung-Su Ding's Distribution of Passeridae in East Asia.

1. One of the minor mysteries of bird naming is how the same bird, Montifringilla adamsi, can be called the Black-winged snowfinch, the Brown-winged snow finch, and the White-winged snow finch, depending on the language.

2. Traditionally, the word 黄雀 huáng-què 'yellow sparrow' referred to the sparrow (still preserved in Japanese as 黄雀 kōjaku). In Modern Chinese 黄雀 huáng-què is used for the siskin (Carduelis spinus).

One of the alternative Chinese names for the Tree sparrow, 王母使者 wángmǔ shǐzhě ('emissary of the queen mother') relates to a story from ancient China. Yang Bao was a man of great moral integrity. In his childhood, he found an injured 'yellow sparrow' (黄雀 huáng-què) which he rescued and nursed back to health. One night a boy dressed in yellow appeared to Yang Bao and told him he was a servant of the Queen Mother of the West. On a mission to the fairy land in the east he had been attacked by a bird of prey and owed his life to Yang Bao. The boy gave Yang Bao four rings, guaranteeing that four generations of his family would rise to high rank.

In Japanese haiku, baby sparrows or 雀の子 suzume no ko are a season word for spring. One word used for the baby sparrow is 黄雀 ki-suzume or 'yellow sparrow', from the colour at the side of the young sparrow's bill. These two characters may also be read kōjaku, as seen above.