THE HABITS OF THE SPARROW. 5 



of occupation, sometimes hunting on their own account, 

 sometimes with other small birds. With the first fall of 

 snow away they go to the stacks, on the sides of which 

 they may be seen clustering ; or, if it is not too deep, 

 searching on the ground for grain which has been 

 shaken out, with chaffinches and yellow-hammers. At 

 all times stacks are a great attraction. It is said that 

 preference is given to a wheat-stack ; but sparrows are 

 not particular so long as they can get grain. Needless 

 to say, that threshing is a matter of the highest 

 interest to sparrows.* 



February and March are spent almost entirely in 

 the vicinity of houses and farmyards, or any place 

 where corn is to be found, unless, as previously men- 

 tioned, they are attracted to a distance by the opera- 

 tion of threshing. I agree in thinking that at this 

 period the opinion of Colonel Russell, who continues 

 the discussion after me, that corn forms 90% of their 

 food, is true. At the end of March fields are sown, 

 and sparrows show not infrequently, by their presence, 

 that they wish to levy the usual tribute ; but it is 

 certain that where a drill is used the grain is de- 

 posited too deeply in the soil for any small birds to 

 reach it, except skylarks, which are said to dig it up 

 sometimes ; but sparrows get the drilled barley and oats 

 when they begin to sprout. 



In addition to the remarks already made on this 

 point — the damage done to corn by sparrows — it would 

 be easy to cite many instances of great and unusual harm 

 caused to tenant-farmers by sparrows, but they are too 



* Mr. B. B. Sapwell remarks that when a stack has been 

 threshed ever so far away from the yard, the sparrows in the yard 

 have always had their crops full of the grain (in lilt. ). 



