95 



with the exception of Cornwall and Devon, although very scarce in Cumber- 

 land and Westmorland. In Wales it is very sparingly distributed over 

 the northern counties and has been met with in the breeding season in 

 Anglesea, Carnarvon, Denbigh, Flint, Montgomery and Brecon, but is still 

 unknown in the western and southern parts of the country, except at 

 Llandaff. It nests in the Isle of Man, but in Ireland is only known to 

 have permanently established itself in the County Dublin. In Scotland it 

 occurs sporadically in colonies, chiefly on the eastern side of the mainland 

 from Sutherland southward, but has also been recorded from W. Suther- 

 land and Argyll, and is said to have formerly bred in Ayr. It is found 

 in Bute and many of the Inner Hebrides (Eigg, Coll, Tiree, lona, Oronsay, 

 Jura etc.), and also in Skye, while it is common on Barra and S. Kilda, 

 and has been recorded as nesting on Unst, Shetlands (1903). 



In the Iberian peninsula it is unknown in Portugal and only occurs p°^' 

 locally in eastern Spain. It is absent from Corsica and Sardinia, but Europe 

 appears to be found in Sicily. Though wanting in Greece it is common 

 in Bulgaria and Macedonia, and appears to be very generally distributed 

 thoughout the contries of central Europe, in some places being even more 

 abundant than the House Sparrow, as in parts of Austro-Hungary. North- 

 ward it was formerly plentiful in the Faeroes, but has apparently disappeared 

 of late, and is unknovni in Iceland, while in Scandinavia CoUett found it 

 established at Vardo (about 70° 30' N.) in 1885, and in Russia it is found 

 as far as Archangel and the Petschora valley. 



In England the favourite breeding places are holes in pollarded willows Nest. 

 or other trees, hollows in ivy covered trees, and in old nests of Herons, 

 Rooks, Crows or Magpies. In treeless districts it is sometimes placed in 

 holes of cliffs or loosely built walls, while exceptionally it has been 

 recorded from haystacks, holes of Green Woodpecker and Sand Martin, 

 thick hollies, thatch or tiling of cottages, etc., and nesting boxes are often 

 appropriated. In some parts of the Continent it regularly haunts the 

 villages and towns, and in eastern Europe frequently builds among the 

 foundations of Storks' nests and the eyries of the larger birds of prey. 

 Reiser has found as many as 30 pairs breeding in one Eagle's nest. In 

 construction the nest resembles that of the House Sparrow, being as a rule 

 carelessly constructed of straw, dead grass, etc., warmly lined with feathers, 

 wool, or hair. Kleinschmidt has found fresh blooms of hyacinth at the 

 entrance of a nesting box occupied by this species. Some nests are 

 domed and substantially built, but where the hole is small but little 

 material is used. 



4 — 6 in number and similar in character to those of the House Eggs. 

 Sparrow; but on comparing a series of both species it will be seen that the 

 eggs of the Tree Sparrow have as a rule finer and more numerous markings. 



