122 HABITS OF BIRDS. 



When a flock of sparrows, accordingly, alight in the 

 corner of a wheatfield, and, as Bloomfield says, 



" Drop one by one upon the bending corn,"* 



we may always be certain of discovering one, or 

 perhaps several, perched on some commanding sta- 

 tion in the adjacent hedgerow, prying into the 

 probable design of every movement among men or 

 animals which lie within ken of the watch-tower. 

 The instant the sentinel perceives anything which 

 he deems worthy of notice, he gives his well-known 

 signal, at which the whole flock hurry off from their 

 banquet with the utmost celerity and trepidation. 

 Their fears are, for the most part, only momentary ; 

 for, as soon as they ascertain that there is no im- 

 mediate danger, they hasten back to finish their 

 meal. 



From all we have been able to observe, there 

 does not seem to be anything like an election or 

 appointment of such sentinels. The fact appears 

 rather to be, that, probably from being less impelled 

 by the calls of hunger, the bird -of the flock who 

 chances to be the last in venturing to alight, feels 

 then reluctant to join his companions, in conse- 

 quence of an instinctive foresight that they might all 

 be thence exposed to danger. We only offer this, 

 however, as a plausible conjecture, which appears 

 more applicable, to the case of sparrows than to 

 that of some other gregarious birds. Were we 

 disposed, indeed, to indulge in the fancies sometimes 

 found in books of natural history, we might give 

 the sparrows credit not only for appointing senti- 

 nels, but for trying them for neglect of duty by a 

 regular court-martial. 



Sparrow-courts, or assemblies of sparrows for 

 some common object regarding one of their com- 

 munity, are of frequent occurrence ; and. in truth, 



* Farmer's Boy. 



