- TREE-SPARROW. 71 
menced in April. The bird may pair for life, for in many cases the 
same site is tenanted yearly. The Tree-Sparrow is particularly fond of 
breeding in pollard willows. The hole is usually at the top of the stump, 
but sometimes in the side. Dixon has found the nest of this bird in the 
branch of an oak tree. It also nests on isolated houses, such as old barns 
and. outhouses, making a hole under the thatch, whilst in rarer instances 
it will build in crevices of rocks, and even, it is said, in walls. Like its 
relation the House-Sparrow, it is said occasionally to utilize the old nests 
of Crows and Magpies; and in such a situation the nest is domed. In the 
majority of cases the nest is cup-shaped and is rather loosely put together. 
It is made very similarly to that of the House-Sparrow, but is not, per- 
haps, so bulky, and does not contain such an assortment of rubbish. It is 
usually made of dry grass, straws, and rootlets, lined with wool, feathers, 
and sometimes a little hair. The eggs of the Tree-Sparrow are from four 
to six in number, and vary considerably in colour. The eggs in each 
clutch are usually pretty uniform in colour, except one egg, which is 
generally much lighter than the rest. These light-coloured eggs may be 
the produce of the bird when its colour-producing powers are getting 
exhausted. The eggs are bluish white in ground-colour; but generally 
little of this can be seen, for the surface-markings are distributed so finely 
and evenly over the entire surface as to hide it. The markings vary from 
rich brown to greyish and greenish brown. On some eggs, especially 
those which are more boldly and less evenly spotted, the underlying mark- 
ings are very large and violet-grey. Some eggs are streaked with very 
dark brown, something like those of the Meadow-Pipit. They vary in 
length from ‘85 to *73 inch, and in breadth from ‘62 to 54 inch. Tree- 
Sparrow’s eggs very closely resemble those of the House-Sparrow, but are, 
on an average, smaller and usually darker and redder. The same types are 
found in each species; but Tree-Sparrow’s eggs do not seem to vary so 
much, and the markings are generally more thickly and finely dispersed 
over the entire surface. The Tree-Sparrow is said to rear as many as 
three broods in the season; but certainly some pairs of birds never rear 
more than one. When the nest is disturbed, the old birds, especially 
if they have young, are very anxious, and uttering their shrill chirping 
alarm-note, will hop restlessly from branch to branch and approach quite 
near. 
The food of the Tree-Sparrow is very similar to that of the House- 
Sparrow, but consists more of small seeds than grain, and in summer of 
insects. The young are fed largely on caterpillars. 
In winter the Tree-Sparrow often wanders far from its usual haunts, 
and may be observed to mingle with flocks of other birds, and is not un- 
frequently seen in the stackyards with the House-Sparrow. There can be 
little doubt that our resident birds are increased in numbers in the 
