SPARROW 



HOUSE SPARROW COMMON SPARROW. 



PLATE LXXXIII. 



Passer domesticus, . . . LINN.EUS. 



Fringilla domestic^ . . . PENNANT. MONTAGU. 



THE nest, which is large in size, and very loosely com- 

 pacted, is usually placed under the eaves of the tiles of 

 houses or other buildings, in the ivy on a wall, underneath 

 the nest of Rook or Magpie, or in any hole or cavity that 

 will supply it with a convenient receptacle for its brood. 

 It is compiled of hay, straw, wool, moss, or twigs, and a 

 profusion of feathers, which the birds are sometimes seen 

 conveying to their holes even in winter. It often measures 

 as much as six inches in diameter, and sometimes even 

 yet more, if the situation demands it. The materials just 

 mentioned, as also any other that may meet the require- 

 ments of the bird, are variously disposed and arranged 

 together according to circumstances. Dove - cotes and 

 pigeon-houses, old walls, sheds, and ruins, are frequently 

 built in, and the same situation is continued to be resorted 

 to, and this even when the young have been exposed to 

 misfortune from rain ; also, as previously mentioned under 

 the account of the Martin, forcible possession is sometimes 

 taken of the nest of the latter bird. It would appear that 



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