HOUSE SPARROAV. ' 347 



Like that of all the small graiiivorous birds, their flesh affords 

 delicate eating ; but their small size exempts them in a great 

 measure from the voracity of the t^^ical pantophagist. When 

 a Sparrow is wounded so as to be unable to fly, it exhibits 

 more courage than almost any other bird of its size, and seizes 

 the hand by which it is laid hold of with much energy, seldom 

 uttering any cry, although when teased it w^ill open its mouth 

 and emit a hoarse scream. 



I need hardly say that Sparrows have no song, their concerts, 

 which are composed of single notes, being, although loud, 

 and doubtless pleasing to themselves, by no means agreeable. 

 Mr. Neville Wood speaks of their " awkward and vulgar 

 manners;" but I have failed in discovering any thing hke 

 awkwardness, restraint, or want of adroitness, in their actions, 

 which, on the contrary, are prompt, apt, and efficient, although 

 they are not so light and graceful as the Goldfinch or Chaffinch, 

 nor so elegantly and delicately constructed as the Wagtails 

 and Pipits. 



A convocation of Sparrows at the commencement of the 

 breeding season affords an interesting sight. Two males attack 

 each other, making much clamour, but doing little execution ; 

 another comes up and joins the fray, when he is presently at- 

 tacked by a fourth. Other males stand still, or descend to the 

 combat, while the females seem quite uninterested in the 

 proceedings, although occasionally one pecks at a male that 

 happens to come in its way. The noise of the combatants 

 increases, until some deem it expedient to retreat, when per- 

 haps the party breaks up. No damage ever happens, and the 

 affair looks more like a sham-fight than a real tug for victory. 

 Frequently a male may be seen perched on a twig, or standing 

 on a wall or house-top, in a kind of crouching attitude, w4th 

 his feathers ruffled, his neck retracted, his head a little raised, 

 his tail and wings drooping, the pectoral feathers raised over 

 the latter ; and he utters a frequent repetition of calls, or love- 

 notes, until a female makes her appearance and approaches 

 him. The caresses of the male do not cease even after the 

 young are excluded from the eggs. The female may often be 

 seen sitting on the ground, or perched, in an attitude indica- 



