96 THE ENGLISH SI'ARRC^'. 



distance of the original singer pins tliat of tlic I-'inch, so tliat tlie result was 

 not a little confnsing, tho very delightfnl when ex|)lained. 



Dnring conrtship this Finch will execnte an aerial song-dance, consisting 

 of snndry jerks and crazy antics, inters|)erscd with a mctlley of ecstatic notes; 

 at the conclnsion of which he will make a suggestive disc at his fiancee, who 

 meanwhile has l)een iK)king fun at him. 



For some reason nests have been exceedingly hard to tind. Many birds 

 arc always pottering alK)Ut with no ajiparent concern for nesting time, and 

 Mr. Bowles hazards that they do not mate until the third year. Apropos of 

 this, one remarks the scarcity of highly plumaged males at all seasons. I 

 have gone si.x months at a time, where Finches were not uncommon, without 

 seeing a single red bird, in fact, 1 never found the latter common except in 

 the vicinity of Tacoma. 



N'ests are placed, preferably, near water, in evergreen or ileciduous trees, 

 and at heights varying from six to forty feet. They usually occur on a l)ough 

 at some distance from the trunk of a supporting tree, seldom or never lieing 

 found in a crotch. Com|M>sed externally of tir twigs, they are lined copiously 

 with green moss, horse-hair, and string, and contain four or five handsome 

 blue-green eggs. s|iotted and dashed with violet and black. 



Two l)rotKls arc probably brought off in a season, the first alxnit the 

 20th of May and the second a month later. .\ sitting female outdoes a 

 Siskin in her devotion to duty, and not infref|uently ref|uires to l)e lifted 

 from her eggs. The male trusts everything to his wife upnn these occasions, 

 but is rm h;md l<> do his share of the work when it cnmes {<> feeding the babies. 



No- 3.S. 

 ENGLISH SPARROW. 



I NTi-fMiii (1:11. J'asser domesticus (I, inn.). 



Synonyms. — I loi si: Spakkow. Do.mkstu' Si'.nkuhw. H(«i|ii.im. 



Description. — .Idult male: .M)ovc ashy gray: middle <>l bai-k and scapiilars 

 heavily siroaki-d with black and bay: tail dusky; a clu-siniit patch beliin<l eye 

 sprcadinj; on slmuldcrs: lesser wing-cnvcrts chestnut; middle coverts borderccl 

 with white, forming a conspicuous white bar during flight, remainder of winR 

 dusky with bay edging; bclnw ashy gray or dirty white; a black thro.it-| atch 

 contiinions witli lores and fore-breast; bill and feet horn color. Adult female: 

 Brownish rather than gray above: bay edging lighter: no chestnut, nnmarkeil 

 below. Length 5.50-^1.25 ( 1 30.7-1 58.S) ; wing 3.00 {.^^.2) : tail 2.20 (55.9); 

 bill .50 ( 12.71. Sexes of about equal size. 



Recognition Marks. — "Si)arrf)w size," black throat an<l breast of male; 

 female obscure brownish and gray. 



Nesting. — .V<'.«/; a globular mass of grass, weeds ami trash, heavily lined 

 with feathers, placed in tree and with entrance in side; or else heavily lined 



