REED-SPARROW PLUMAGE. 



When you talked of keeping a reed- sparrow, and 

 giving it seeds, I could not help wondering ; because 

 the reed- sparrow, which I mentioned to you (passer 

 arundinaceus minor, Raii), is a soft-billed bird, and 

 most probably migrates hence before winter; whereas 

 the bird you kept (passer torquatus, Raii,) abides all 

 the year, and is a thick-billed bird. I question whe- 

 ther the latter be much of a songster ; but in this 

 matter I want to be better informed. The former 

 has a variety of hurrying notes, and sings all night. 

 Some part of the song of the former, I suspect, is 

 attributed to the latter. We have plenty of the soft- 

 billed sort, which Mr. Pennant had entirely left out 

 of his British Zoology, till I reminded him of his 

 omission. See British Zoology last published, p. 16*. 



I have somewhat to advance on the different man- 

 ners in which different birds fly and walk ; but as 

 this is a subject that I have not enough considered, 

 and is of such a nature as not to be contained in a 

 small space, I shall say nothing farther about it at 

 present f. 



No doubt the reason why the sex of birds in their 

 first plumage is so difficult to be distinguished is, as 

 you say, " because they are not to pair and discharge 

 their parental functions till the ensuing spring." As 

 colours seem to be the chief external sexual distinc- 

 tion in many birds, these colours do not take place 

 till sexual attachments begin to obtain. And the 

 case is the same in quadrupeds ; among whom, in 

 their younger days, the sexes differ but little ; but, 

 as they advance to maturity, horns and shaggy manes, 

 beards and brawny necks, &c. &c., strongly discrimi- 

 nate the male from the female. We may instance 

 still farther in our own species, where a beard and 



* See Letter XXVI. To Thomas Pennant, Esq. 

 f See Letter LXXIV. To the Hon. Daines Barrington, 

 12 



