32 



THE OOLOGIST. 



als,) and in 1875 every one of the twelve 

 apartments in the hovise was occupied. Bur 

 a change came the next year. The English 

 Sparrows came to town in 1876, and from 

 the manner in which they possessed tliem- 

 selves, from the first,. of the Martin house, 

 it loolied as though they had come to stay. 

 Early in January they could be seen going 

 in and out of the doors, and we had fears 

 that our friends, the Martins, would meet 

 with a cold reception when they came North 

 to summer with us again. So it proved. 

 On April 8th, 1876, a lonely and fatigued 

 male Martin flew down ou top of the house 

 in which the Sparrows already had nests 

 and eggs, only to be instantly bestiged and 

 driven ofE by the outraged British. A day 

 or two later a full dozen arrived and the 

 war commenced in earnest. The Sparrows 

 had probably never before seen a specimen 

 of American pluck, and they entered the 

 the fray with a confidence and decision of 

 purpose which had served them well in 

 their former meetings with the Bluebird 

 and House-wren, but did not avail them 

 here. The Martins opposed them right 

 valiantly and would not yield their claim 

 of priority, neither, of course, would the 

 Sparrows sacrifice their homes so newly 

 constructed, and so it happened that the 

 house was tenanted that year by the Mar- 

 tins and Sparrows in a common commun- 

 ity. They seemed on the whole to get 

 along well enough, though not infrequently 

 I have been called to the window by their 

 indignant cries, to see a sparrow pursued 

 by several enraged Martins, or visa versa. 

 Every season since 1876 the same state of 

 afEairs has existed, both species occupying 

 the tenement and breeding. This would 

 possibly have gone on indefinitely had not 

 a severe storm, which visited us late in 

 1885, blown the roof off, and in attempting 

 to renew it we found the residence so foul 

 and rotten, that we removed it, and now 

 the bare pole (^vine clad in summer) stands 

 the sole monument to a useful past. 



I have calculated that during its exis- 

 tence this box sheltered no less than 1,200 

 Martins, old and young, besides innumerable 

 Sparrows, surely a very good record as re- 



gards the former. In this primitive coun- 

 try town there are many Martin boxes pro- 

 vided, and so zealously are they guarded by 

 their owners, that it is impossible for any 

 one to obtain permission to rob them. I 

 doubt if 30 sets of Martin's eggs have been 

 taken here within as many years. 



The nest is loosely put together, and con- 

 sists of fine hay and straw, the leaves of 

 either the silver maple or weeping willow, 

 and a warm and soft feather lining. Some- 

 times mud enters into the composition of 

 tlie nest, but not always. These nests are 

 so placed just within the openings as to 

 block the doorway and thus form a partial 

 barricade to the elements and the oijlogist. 

 Twice only in fourteen years did I disturb 

 . the eggs, one set in 1874, and in 1875 three 

 sets. In all cases the nest complement was 

 four eggs. I never found more than that 

 number anywhere. These eggs were ob- 

 tained by means of a tablespoon g<ntly in- 

 serted, while standing on a long ladder. 

 The birds show their disapproval of such 

 housebreaking by fluttering j\ist above the 

 intruder and emitting a low and plaintive 

 cry. 



Now that the career of this box is ended, 

 we will probably raise another tenement 

 before the coming season, for others be- 

 side the writer ■would miss the graceful, 

 beautiful birds, and summer would not be 

 complete without them. Thus ends the 

 history of one bird box. 



tlATiPvY G. Parker, 

 Jan. 30th, 1886. Chester, Penn. 



The Tree Sparrow. 



Of the same genus {Spizella) as the Social 

 Sparrow, this bird is readily distinguished 

 by the dark, circular spot in the middle of 

 his breast. He is, in this locality, only a 

 winter visitor, appearing in large flocks 

 about the middle of October. I have seen 

 a flock that must have numbered 150 or 

 more. Nearly always, however, when 

 feeding, they are widely scattered, and a 

 careless passer-by thinks there are only 

 dozens where there are scores. Nature has 

 given them a garb almost completely con- 



