82 BIRDS OF MIDDLESEX. 



example by other birds, which not only laj^ed but 

 hatched their eggs. 



Tree Sparrow, Fringilla montana. Like the 

 last, an uncertain visitant, occasionally appearing 

 in small flocks in autumn, and remaining till the 

 spring. I have one, an adult male, in my collection, 

 that w^as caught at Kingsbury by a birdcatcher in 

 October, 1862, together with several of the common 

 species with wdiich it vv^as feeding ; and Mr. W. H. 

 Power has three others which he killed at the same 

 place in November, 1864. In the autumn of 1857 

 this species was so plentiful in that neighbourhood 

 that a dozen might have been killed at a shot. It 

 has occasionally been observed in small flocks 

 during winter in the neighbourhood of Harrow, and 

 at Elstree. Although to a casual observer there 

 may appear to be a close resemblance between this 

 species and the next, it may be distinguished by its 

 chocolate-coloured head, more slender bill, and the 

 triangular patch of black on each cheek. 



House Sparrow, Fringilla domestica. The com- 

 monest of all common birds ; but, though so much 

 persecuted and despised, a clean and w^ell-fed country 

 Sparrow is by no means a bad-looking fellow, and 

 besides being an amusing bird to observe, and dis- 

 playing a good deal of cunning withal, it sets us a 

 good example by its cheerful and contented dispo- 

 sition under adverse circumstances. 



Sparrows, too, have a great diversity of habits. I 



