HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



J03 



A NEW HISTORY OF THE SPARROW. 

 By George Roberts. 



ARCHITECTURE AND BREEDING HABITS. 



THE sparrow (Passer domcstkus) well illustrates 

 the theory of the survival of the fittest. Its 

 attachment to man and his products gives it advan- 

 tages over all other birds. Its manner of breeding 

 enables it to bring up its young with greater ease and 

 certainty than almost any other bird. In early spring 

 it constructs a nest in holes in walls, and under tiles 

 and slates in dwelling houses. These places are 

 warm and secure from storms, and also from prowling 

 enemies. The nests of other birds in the early spring 

 are subject to frost, rain, and wind. A little later 

 (the sparrow knows the time) it begins to build a nest 

 in trees, and this nest is a pattern of stability, con- 

 venience, and comfort. The female is the architect ; 

 the male works to orders. As soon as the site is 

 fixed upon, both begin to bring slender twigs, dry 

 fibrous roots, and dry grass stalks, and these materials 

 are worked and woven into a round, or rather oblong 

 hollow structure, sometimes large enough to fill a 

 peck measure. The male works tolerably hard till 

 the nest is nearly finished ; he then becomes negligent, 

 and often takes a jaunt with other idlers into the 

 fields and gardens to see how the crops are coming 

 on, leaving the female to collect all the soft feathers 

 and bits of warm flannel and wool to line the inside 

 of the cradle. When the eggs are laid the male takes 

 his turn at sitting, but he dislikes being cooped up in 

 a dark prison. He prefers mounting guard on a 

 branch about a yard off the nest, where he can look 

 about him ; he there sits and chirps at the top of his 

 voice, proclaiming to the neighbouring community 

 that all is going on prosperously. From this place he 

 is also ready to join other small birds at a moment's 

 notice in the task of mobbing any passing hawk or 

 wandering cuckoo. 



This masterly nest gains for the sparrow at least 

 three advantages over most of the other small birds. 

 First, by being thatched it prevents the eggs from 

 being seen by the rook, crow, or magpie, or any 

 other egg-eating bird ; it also secures the young 

 against that arch-enemy of nestling birds, the cat. 

 Secondly, it preserves the eggs and young against 

 the chilling effects of rain, snow, and wind. Whilst 

 other young birds are starving and suffering in their 

 roofless nests from the piercing blasts of early spring, 

 the young of the sparrow, even when the mother is 

 absent, are snugly enjoying a feather bed. Thirdly, 

 the construction of the nest ensures greater and more 

 uniform warmth, and thus brings the young on to 

 maturity in less time, and with greater certainty. 

 The position of the nest is another consideration. It 

 is very often placed in a high tree out of the reach of 

 ■ordinary enemies. It is often in some tall, ivy-covered 

 tree, doubly shielded by its own roof, and by the 



pendent ivy leaves ; or in some thick scraggy thorn 

 bush, which no cat or other nest-hunter can climb 

 on account of the thorns, which present a thousand 

 defensive dagger-points on every side. The nest is fre- 

 quently pitched, it is said, under the nest of rooks ; 

 the latter, in that case, will ward off the snow and rain 

 and violent winds. The sparrow never places its nest 

 on the ground, where it would be subject to damp, and 

 to the depredations of snakes, weasels, hedgehogs, 

 rats, mice, and cats ; and, lastly, to mischievous boys. 

 Though the sparrow is very overbearing and tyrannical 

 when among other birds, it is said that he is 

 exceedingly polite and humble when among the 

 rooks, seeming to consider it a great privilege to be 

 allowed to take up his residence in the rook-city. 

 He never attempts to usurp the nest of the rook, 

 unless it be a deserted one, and then, like a skilful 

 architect, he seizes it and adapts it to his own wants 

 to save labour, but in all other things he behaves 

 himself in the most submissive and condescending 

 manner. Thus the two species — the most eminent of 

 British birds for sociality — live together in amity. 



The nests which are in holes of walls are equally 

 inaccessible with those that are in trees. In these 

 cases the builder accommodates itself to circum- 

 stances, and practises economy of labour. Knowing 

 that there is already a roof, the dome of the nest is 

 omitted, or at least only partially constructed of a 

 few arching straws, though the nest sometimes is of 

 considerable size. 



Trees are the normal nesting sites of the sparrow, 

 and before there were any artificial walls it would be 

 confined to trees or to rocks. But the bird has 

 partially turned away from its normal nesting-places 

 and attached itself to man's dwellings, which are 

 convenient and much warmer than the trees, hence it 

 is enabled to raise two or three broods, whereas 

 formerly it might have raised but one. This is a clear 

 gain to the sparrow as a species. It adapts its nest to 

 the cavities in the wall ; that, in itself, must entail 

 some modification of architecture. The modification 

 is favourable to the bird, for it enables it to build its 

 nest with less labour, a smaller nest being required, 

 hence there is a saving of time. In addition, greater 

 warmth is secured, as it often happens that the nest is 

 placed close to some flue or chimney. The fecundity 

 of the species is also increased by this semi-domesticity. 

 The sparrow thus improves its condition, from these 

 causes alone, so much so that it has gained a percep- 

 tible ascendency over other species. But leaving 

 aside its domestic habits and its predilection for 

 warm walls, its domed nest gives it an immense 

 advantage over birds that build an ordinary, hemi- 

 spherical, exposed nest. There is as much difference 

 in comfort between the house-sparrow's warm, bulky 

 nest and that of the hedge-sparrow, as there is 

 between a good dwelling-house and a gipsy-tent. 

 Perfect, however, as the sparrow's nest may be, yet it 

 might be more perfect. There is another bird (not 



