IN EARLY SPRING—SECOND WEEK OF APRIL 7 
are building this year. They have started 
their nest I feel sure. As for the sparrows, 
they are busy indeed. I stood at the window 
yesterday, and saw and heard a number of 
them on the roof of the old outhouse in the 
yard. There many bits of sticks had col- 
lected, and the birds had all at once discovered 
them, and lost no time in appropriating them 
for their nests. One bird, a cock, was especi- 
ally hard working. He and his mate had 
chosen the top of a pollarded lime some fifty 
wards, away, tor their nest) this year... the 
sticks were easy to pick up, and I counted 
his journeys with them to and fro. In five 
minutes he had performed it twelve times. 
It seemed to me that, in common with the 
other sparrows, he had found the sticks to 
be just what he wanted for his purpose, and 
in almost distressing haste carried them off 
bit by bit, grudging each piece the others 
took away. At last the roof was cleared, 
and the cock sparrow then spent some minutes 
in arranging the materials. I saw nothing 
of the hen meanwhile. Then he popped 
