Perching Birds. 



17 



insectivorous species and is undeserving of protection. In this countiv it certainly 

 drives away and persecutes man}' useful birds, and it flourishes to such an extent that 

 I am informed by Mr. Ashton Jones, our Chief Messenger, that anv Warbler or other 

 bird which happens to visit our gardens in the Natural History Museum, is at 

 once attacked by the Sparrows and either driven ofl", or killed instanth'. 



The House-Sparrow is found throughout the greater part of Europe and Asia, 

 as far as Lake Baikal, though the individuals from Asia are certainlv smaller and 

 brighter in plumage than those of our own islands. In the South of Europe the 

 Spanish Sparrow, and in ltal\' Passer itnlicr, replace our domestic species. 



The sexes differ greatly in colour, and the male Sparrow, when not disfigured by 

 the smoke of towns, is really quite a handsome little bird. Like most Finches, he 

 gains his summer plumage by the abrasion of the brown edges to the feathers with 

 which he is clothed in winter, and as these tips fall off, his spring dress, which is 

 hidden beneath, becomes apparent. White varieties of the House-Sparrow are not 

 uncommon, and a pair of birds which frequented our gardens at the Natural History 

 Museum a few years ago, were noticeable for their white wing-feathers, and this 

 peculiarity was reproduced in their young ones. To this day a few birds with a 

 more or less marked degree of albinism may be seen in the vicinity, but the white- 

 winged birds seem to have gradually died out. The nest of the common Sparrow is 

 to be found in all kinds of situations, and the way in which it chokes up water-pipes 

 with its untidy structure of grass and straw, is well known to and dreaded by the 

 dwellers in our suburbs. Where the hole of a roof or a barn is not available, the 

 Sparrow often builds its nest in iv}- or even on a tree apart, while in the Natural 

 History Museum may be seen a curious example of the bird's choice, a pair 

 having sought the shelter of a large fungus on old Putney Bridge, under which 

 they placed their nest. 



The present species is quite different in appearance from 

 the House-Sparrow, being not only a smaller bird, but dis- 

 tinguished by its chocolate-coloured pate. The sexes are 

 alike in colour, and the note is not nearh- so harsh 

 as that of the Common Sparrow. In the British 

 Islands the Tree-Sparrow is always more or less 

 local in its habitat, and is principally an in- 

 habitant of the Eastern Counties in England and 

 Scotland. In Ireland it breeds on the coast ot 

 Dublin and is increasing in numbers. 



In the autumn the Tree-Sparrow con- 

 sorts with the House-Sparrow in the stubble- 

 fields, and retires to roost with it in the ever- 

 greens or ivy-covered trees, where the clamour 

 of Sparrows in the evening is so noticeable a Tm- Tki;k Si'arrow. 



THE TREE-SPARROW. 

 {Passer tnoittaiius.) 



