30 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



are in the wildest and most elevated districts of Scot- 

 land and Ireland. Most abundant in towns and well- 

 cultivated districts. 



Breeding habits : The House Sparrow pairs for life, 

 and during all the open months of the year may be 

 found breeding in greater or lesser numbers. The great 

 breeding season is in April, May, and June. There are 

 few birds more gregarious than the House Sparrow, and 

 the size of its breeding-colonies seems regulated purely 

 by the extent of accommodation offered. No other 

 British bird selects such a great variety of sites for its 

 nest as the House Sparrow. It may be found almost 

 everywhere — in every nook and crevice of all kinds of 

 buildings, and amongst statuary, in trees (both in holes 

 in the timber and in the open branches) and bushes, 

 amongst ivy and other creeping plants, in holes in cliffs 

 and sand-banks, both inland and marine, amongst the 

 sticks of Rooks' nests, and even in deserted nests of 

 Crows and Magpies. The materials used are just as 

 varied in character, and it is difficult to name any soft 

 substance that is not used at some time or another in 

 the construction of the nest. Straws, dry grass, and 

 herbage of all kinds, strips of rag, cotton, twine, worsted, 

 wool, hair, and feathers are universally employed. The 

 nests of the House Sparrow may be divided into two 

 very distinct types, which differ considerably in form and 

 in the quality of the workmanship. The first and com- 

 monest type, made in holes, is little more than a rude 

 heap of material massed together, with the softest por- 

 tions for the lining. The second type, placed in trees 

 and amongst ivy, is much more skilfully made. Dry 

 grass, straws, and withered plants are woven together 

 into a large dome-shaped structure, with a small entrance 

 hole on the top or side, and warmly lined with hair, 

 wool, feathers, etc. These nests will be used year after 



