Found in India, north-eastern Afghanistan, and northern Pakistan, the small, drab, yellow-throated sparrow or chestnut-shouldered petronia (Gymnoris xanthocollis xanthocollis) has a pale yellow spot on the throat in fresh plumage – and males have a chestnut shoulder patch which can sometimes be hard to see. Females are duller and lack the chestnut shoulder patch. The alternative species is Gymnoris xanthocollis transfuga is a pale desert form found from south-eastern Turkey and south-eastern Iraq to Baluchistan, Sindh, and south-western Afghanistan.
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