212 



Queen's County, Ireland, in 1802 ; and a few 

 specimens have since been obtained in England 

 and Ireland. Singular as it may appear, Sabine's 

 Snipe does not seem even yet to have fallen into 

 the hands of any Naturalist out of the British 

 Islands, and consequently very little is known of 

 its habits. It is at once distinguished from every 

 other European species of Snipe, by the total 

 absence of white from its plumage., or of any of 

 those lighter tints of ferruginous yellow which 

 extend more or less in stripes along the head and 

 back of them all. 



SPARROW, HOUSE. 

 COMMON SPARROW. 



FRINGILLA DOMESTICA. Lin. 



The House Sparrow, the boldest and most fami- 

 liar of our small birds, is generally dispersed in 

 Great Britain and Ireland, residing in towns, 

 villages, farm-buildings, and seldom betaking itself 

 to places remote from human habitations. In 

 autumn and winter the Sparrows, usually in large 

 flocks, search the fields for grain and seeds, after- 

 committing in the former season considerable havoc 

 among wheat. Stackyards and dunghills are their 

 favourite places of resort at all seasons. They 

 build their nest in any convenient locality, at a 



