In Ethiopia and Eritrea, this Passeridae finch is quite common on altitudes over 1,200 meters. In some places, it replaces the House sparrow as "the village bird", i.e. living near human settlements. Otherwise, it occurs in a variety of biotopes, wetlands, open forests, savanna or bushy grasslands. It has been named after William Swainson, a British 19th century zoologist who studied and described a number of bird species. As their close relatives, the Swainson's sparrow is a seed eaters, but complements its diet with some insects. The nest is built of grass and feathers and is placed wherever there is a reasonable platform, a fork of a branch, a hole in a house wall or an old sparrow's nest. It lays 3-6 white eggs with brown and gray spots. Outside the breeding season, which occurs during Northern Hemisphere summer, Swainson's sparrows often gather in large flocks that may become a threat to agriculture or gardening. This sparrow was photographed at a water hole in Langano, quenching its thirst.