HARDWJCKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



79 



THE SPARROW. 



DOUBTLESS, many ^vill say wlien they see the 

 heading of this paper, surely enough has been 

 said about this bird. What more can be wanted ? 

 Nevertheless, the fact is, that not half its true 

 history has been written. It is not my intention to 

 write anything like a history, but I wish to state the 

 peculiarities in the bird I have met with during the 

 past breeding season. Last season, and the four 

 previous seasons, I was inquisitive enough to look into 

 the domestic arrangements of these birds, and found 

 that each season gave a different result. 



The clutches of eggs of last season, 1890, were 

 larger or longer than those of 1889. In that season 

 I did not obtain a clutch of six eggs, but in the 

 season just passed I obtained four clutches containing 

 six eggs each, and five eggs very commonly formed 

 the clutch. Taking the season all through, the 

 clutches gave an average of four and a half eggs 

 each, and the average of the broods was not quite 

 three and a half young birds ; this is the highest 

 average I have met with. The discrepancy between 

 the eggs and brood was not caused by the infertility 

 of the eggs, for the eggs, as a whole, showed a very 

 high percentage of fertility, but in many cases by 

 incubation ceasing after the embryo was well formed, 

 and also by some of the young birds dying in the 

 nest. The former I found when examining a 

 number of clutches in a very advanced state of 

 incubation. The dead or dying young birds are as a 

 rule carried out and dropped at a short distance from 

 the nest. I saw an unusual number of these little 

 outcasts last season, owing, I believe, to the great 

 fertility of the eggs. 



A curious feature exhibited itself in the eggs. In 

 many of the clutches there was a small egg, not 

 pygmean, but perfect ; in previous seasons I have met 

 with one or two like instances, but last season it was 

 of frequent occurrence. In the sixty clutches I have 

 jDreserved it is quite conspicuous. I also met with 

 what I consider to be a very great curiosity, that 

 being a genuine pygmean egg ; it is about the size of a 

 blue tit's egg, it weighed sixteen grains and contained 

 a small quantity of albumen. It is the only specimen 

 I have ever seen or heard of. It was in a nest with 

 three others of the ordinary size, two being of a light 

 colour, the third of a slaty-grey like the pygmy. In 

 the July number of this Journal I see recorded, by 

 Mr. Tracy, of Ipswich, that another sparrow's egg 

 had been found marked at the smaller end. I have 

 not been fortunate enough to obtain a specimen, 

 neither did I see any trace of smaller end colouring 

 amongst the four hundred sparrow's eggs I examined 

 during the season. Nevertheless, the peculiarity 

 showed itself in the eggs of several other birds. The 

 eggs of 1890 and 1889 showed a greater percentage 

 of fertility than those of the previous seasons, and 

 comparing the clutches of the two seasons they are 



very much alike in colouring, but if the eggs of the 

 past season had been of a lighter colour I should have 

 considered my theory of fertility and colour running 

 together to have fallen through ; however, I have the 

 eggs to corroborate my statement. 



I fail to understand why these birds are so erratic 

 in their nidification ; they appear to have no fixed 

 type of nest, like nearly all other birds, but the nest 

 is made to suit the site selected for it. The nearest 

 approach to a fixed type is when the nest is built in 

 a tree or bush, then it is of a domed bulky structure 

 with an entrance at the top. Then, again, they have 

 no fixed type of egg : the eggs vary very much in 

 size, shape and colour. I know of no bird belonging 

 to its family which lays such a large egg in propor- 

 tion to its size, some of them measuring nearly one 

 inch in length. Many will measure '98, but I have 

 never found a perfect egg fully an inch long. They 

 prefer the society of man more than any other bird, 

 and although greatly persecuted and maligned they 

 can hold their own against all comers. 



I read with much regret the sentence passed upon 

 them in this Journal by Mr. C. Parkinson. However, 

 it is to be hoped that it will not be carried out. 



The following figures give the average of the 

 broods for the past five seasons. 



1886 Young birds . 

 18S7 „ „ . 



1 888 

 1889 

 1890 



04 



J4 



31 

 3 



Every one must know that it is almost impossible 

 to get at exact figures, but the foregoing give the 

 full average ; however, I have not the slightest doubt 

 if more exact figures could be obtained that the 

 average of the broods for the past five years would 

 not exceed three young birds. 



Popular opinion — which is always wrong — is that 

 the sparrows have large broods, but as my investiga- 

 tion has been going on several of my sceptical friends 

 find that they have been labouring under a very false 

 impression as to the number of young birds in each 

 brood. 



Having seen my little friends breaking up various 

 kinds of beetles, I thought I would see what they had 

 to say to some fine fat cockroaches, so I turned some 

 on the lawn ; they were very soon amongst them. 

 Some of the birds appeared at first afraid to attack 

 the largest of these black-looking insects, but only 

 one escaped by reaching cover, and he would have 

 shared the fate of his companions had not the birds 

 been frightened away. 



Joseph P. Nunn. 



We are sorry to notice the death of Mr. Wm. 

 Davies, F.G.S., lately of the British Museum, to 

 whom many old students of geology were indebted 

 for assistance. 



