XHSTIXG IN WESTERN INDIA. 317 



T have often had to turn the face q£ a looking glass to the wall, 

 tii prevent the sparrows from injuring themselves, fur immediately 

 one of them catches a glimpse of himself in it, he commences a 

 furious onslaught, on what, he imagines, must he a rival, and if 

 not prevented, will continue fighting the whole day, only leaving 

 off when darkness sets in, recommencing the hattle at dawn the , 

 next day. I once tried to see how long it would he hefore the bird 

 gave in, hut after two days, seeing no likelihood of his retiring from 

 the unequal contest, I took pity on him and had the glass covered 

 up. The bird did not seem in any way exhausted, although I do not 

 think that he had a morsel of food for two days. 



The nests are shapeless masses of grass, straw, and string ; almost 

 anything they can find is made use of ; the cgg.i, four in number, 

 occasionally five, are subject to much variation in size, shape and 

 colour. 



In shape, they are usually a longish oval, pinched in a little at 

 one end ; in colour they are greenish-, greyish-, or yellowish? 

 white, and the markings consisting of spots, streaks, specks, and. 

 blotches, are olive-, yellowish-, or purplish-brown ; sometimes the 

 ground colour is almost pure white, but generally the egg is dull 

 and dingy. They average about. 0\8 inches in length, by about 0-(J 

 in breadth. 



709.— THE RUFOUS-BACKED SPARROW. 

 Passer pi/rrhonotas, Bit/, 



After a lapse of forty years, this bird has been rediscovered by 

 Mr. Doig; he found them breeding in a swamp, along the banks of 

 the Eastern Narra Canal in Sind. 



The nests were exactly similar to those of the Common House 

 Sparrow {Passer (fomesiicus) 1 , only rather smaller ; they were pi iced 

 in the topmost branches of some small acacia trees, growing in the 

 water, and were about twelve feet above the water line. All the 

 nests had young ones more or less fully fledged. 



71U— THE YELLOW-THROATED SPARROW. 

 Gi/mnoris flqvicoUk, FranhL 

 The Yellow-throated Sparrow occurs throughout Western India • 

 £ii some districts it is very common. It is, a p< niKinrnt resident., 



