130 The Hedge-Sparrow. 



Mannikins of the genus Mioiia, it seems hypercritical to reject a name which is 

 generally understood. 



The Hedge-Sparrow is one of those familiar birds which will never desert 

 us, for it is just as happy in gardens, orchards, groves, shrubberies, plantations, 

 and hedges, as in the dense undergrowth of copses and woods. In the winter, 

 like the Robin, it seeks the habitations of man, and takes advantage of the refuse 

 food flung out for its sooty and more vulgar namesake : it is one of the first 

 songsters heard in suburban gardens, and helps to enliven the wet dreariness of 

 February. The song itself is not very remarkable for execution, but is bright 

 and clear, somewhat jiggy, if one may use such an expression, less plaintive and 

 varied than that of the Robin, and not so musical as that of the Wren : it 

 consists of very few notes ; but these are made the most of, so that the effect is 

 decidedly pleasing : also in mild winters it may be heard at times when most 

 other birds are silent. 



Like the Chaffinch, the Hedge-Sparrow both runs and hops ; on the ground 

 it almost invariably runs with its head depressed as if constantly on the look out 

 for food, and when it catches sight of a spider or a seed it hops forward, shuffling 

 its wings with a curious rapid action characteristic of its Subfamily. When 

 passing down a garden path this bird generally keeps close to the border, 

 dodging now and again under a shrub with a business-like action which almost 

 reminds one of a mouse : it is rarely seen in lofty trees, but seems rather to 

 prefer shrubs and hedges, amongst which it drops from branch to branch, peering 

 about like a Tit for insect food. 



The nest of the Hedge-Sparrow has more frequently been represented by 

 artists than that of any other species, and yet the form selected for illustration 

 is one which many a zealous birds'-nester has never met with — a perfect cup of 

 very fine bents, root-fibre, and moss, thickly lined with black horsehair, a little 

 fibre, and one or two soft fluffy feathers : one nest of this character I found on 

 May ist, 1884, and it is the only one of its kind I have ever seen. The nest is 

 always warm and cosy in appearance, rather deep, the outer walls being generally 

 enclosed in a framework of coarse twigs, rough roots of couch-grass, or thick grass- 

 stalks, and occasionally fragments of dead furze ; the walls themselves are thick, 

 and somewhat loosely formed of green moss, frequently intermixed with bents, and 

 sometimes a little sheep's wool ; the lining consists of hair, fine fibre, and often a 

 little wool, and a small soft feather or two. Very rarely nests may be found in 

 which there is no moss, but in most nests this material is very freely used. 



The position of the nest varies a good deal, but is rarely found at more than 

 four or five feet from the ground ; it is very frequently built in a hawthorn 



