Simplify the following text for a Grade 7 native English-speaking person.
Original: Some authorities previously classified the related estrildid finches of the Old World tropics and Australasia as members of the Passeridae . Like the true sparrows , the estrildid finches are small , gregarious and often colonial seed-eaters with short , thick , but pointed bills .
Simplified: Some scientists believe that the Estrildid finches are in the same family as sparrows .