13 



place, wlaether it be a Palace, tlie House of Lords or Commons, Nelson's 

 Column, tlie National Gallery, the British Museum, Guildhall, the 

 Mansion House, or the Eoyal Exchange, let it be a stone building or a 

 galvanized iron one, there is sure to be an unlucky corner left for him, 

 which he is not slow to discover, quite regardless of the sensitive nerves of 

 the occupants ; his dignity is not even lowered when in possession of a hut, 

 or a pig-sty, so long as he can find an aperture large enough to drag in 

 hay and rags. The crown of a rain water-pipe is always a most favourite 

 position for a nest, although the bird heedlessly places it there, losing many 

 broods during heavy rains. 



The sparrow will occasionally build a dome-shaped nest in a tree or a 

 bush, these structures are large and loosely constructed, som6 that I have 

 seen were of such dimensions as to make it appear as though two nests 

 were imited. 



I have a nest taken from an ivy covered wall, composed of hay, straw, 

 bents and the tail feathers of pigeons, the latter are stuck in an upright 

 position, and amongst them a dyed blue duck's and a green ostrich 

 feather, no doubt belonging to a young lady's bonnet, the tips of each 

 feather meeting, thus forming a complete bower ; the interior is lined with 

 the downy feathers of the fowl. 



The eggs five in number, are of the usual types ; the ground-colour is 

 dirty white variously spotted and streaked with pale grey, blackish-brown, 

 purplish-brown, and yellowish-brown, and many of the small blotches 

 overlaping each other, while one is completely striated all over, in another 

 the brown is dispersed over the surface. 



The dimensions of each egg are, viz. : — L. 0'85, b. 0'60. L. 0-82, b. 

 0-64. L. 0-77, b. 0-63. L. 0-80, b 0-63. L. 0-82, b. 0-64. 



The eggs are extremely variable, from almost chocolate-brown to pure 

 white, with a few blackish-brown blotches unevenly scattered on the 

 surface. From four to seven eggs are the usual numbers found in the 

 nests. 



Some of the largest eggs in my collection measure : — L. 0*9, b. 0*64. 

 L. 0-95, b. 0-68, while others are only L. 079, b. 0-63. L. 0-85, b. 0-60. 



