518 



PASSERINES. 



The House Sparrow {Passer domesticiis, Yarrell), Fig. 228, is 

 among the most interesting of the Passerinse. It abounds all over 

 Europe, from its most southern regions up to extreme north. 



Every one is acquainted with this little bird ; lively, pert, 

 and cunning, the true gamin of the winged race. It lives in 

 flocks in the neighbourhood of dwelling-houses, and even in the 

 heart of large towns ; it is familiar, but its familiarity is circum- 

 spect and sly. It haunts our streets and public places, but is 

 careful to keep men and boys at a respectful distance. It has a 



notion that the friendship 

 of the great is dangerous, 

 and its prudence counsels 

 it to avoid intimacies which 

 might have troublesome 

 consequences ; it is only 

 after multitudinous proofs 

 of good offices that the 

 Sparrow will form an un- 

 reserved treaty of friend- 

 ship with man. The Sparrow 

 quoted by Buffon, which 

 not only followed its soldier 

 master everywhere, but 

 would recognise him from 

 all the others in the regi- 

 ment, proves they are both 

 intelligent and capable of 



Fig. 228.— House Sparrows {Frmgilla domestica, Perm.), qflpppf ifj-ri 



SparrjDws are eminently sociable, seeking their food and building 

 their nests near each other, whether it be in crevices of walls 

 or under the eaves of houses, in hedges or trees, or in the deserted 

 nests of Swallows, which they have the effrontery to appropriate. 

 In their nest, which is a bulky, soft, and warm structure, lined 

 with wool, bristles, and hair, the female deposits from four to six 

 eggs three times a year ; their fecundity is consequently very great. 

 They are omnivorous, but prefer seeds and the larvae of insects to 

 all other food. 



Oceans of ink have flowed to prove the ravages committed by 



