SPARROWS. 



101 



'but it never uttered- a nqt,e.. It). disc) August 17th, 1900. 

 I gave a short aooou-nt. of the brxi in iYte Avicultural 

 Magazine, i jst series/ -Vol. II., pp. 5-6.- 



DESERT SPARROW (Passer simplex). 



Creamy buff, slightly ashy on crown and mantle; 

 median wing-coverts pure wtiite; greater coverts dull 

 'black, broadly tipped "with white ; flights dull buffish, 

 browner towards the extremities, and edged with white, 

 which becomes slightly yellowish on the outer webs of 

 the secondaries ; tail pale dull Ibrown, darker towards 

 the tip, and with buff margins, widest in centre 

 feathers ; the feathers at sides of forehead, in front of 

 eye, and a few above the ear-coverts, black; cheeks, 

 ear-coverts, and sides of throat white ; chin and throat 

 black ; beak clear brownish, with the base white ; feet 

 yellowish ; irides dark brown. Female yellower above, 

 and without any black on head and meek. Habitat, 

 Kordofan to the Libyan and Sahara deserts (Shelley). 



Von Heuglin says that this iSparrow " feeds on grain 

 near habitations, and in its habits resembles P. mon- 

 tanus, does not frequent the mountains, but inhabits 

 the lowlands of Kordofan, Sennaar, and the wastes 

 between Berber and Suakin." He says that the egg 

 resembles that of the House Sparrow ; but to anyone 

 who examined the series of eggs of the latter bird figured 

 in my "Birds' Eggs of the British Isles," PI. IV., figs. 

 132-143, most of which- were taken by myself, such a 

 remark might mean anything, inasmuch as the eggs of 

 the House 'Sparrow vary from the type of the Pied Wag- 

 tail to that of a Common Bunting or a Tree Pipit. 

 They are neither constant in size, shape, colouring, nor 

 character of marking. .Some eggs are like a common 

 type of Cuckoo's egg ; others almost like that of the 

 Robin; others, again, like an elongated egg of the 

 Skylark. Therefore, while saying that Passer simplex 

 lays eggs like those of the House Sparrow, Von Heuglin 

 might as well have completed his description by assur- 

 ing us that they were about the size of a piece of chalk ; 

 but, oddly enough, he is precise in his measurements 

 0.85 fey 0.6. 



Dr. Russ appeared to be unaware that this species 

 had been exhibited at -the London Zoological Gardens, 

 and therefore dismissed it in a few words as a bird rn- 

 likely to appear in the bird-market, and as rare in it? 

 native country. 



J. I. S. Whitaker ("Birds of Tunisia," Vol._ I., 

 p. 209) says : " Although not uncommon in the localities 

 it frequents, the bird appears to be somewhat local in 

 its distribution, and is not found -everywhere in the 

 sandy desert." 



On p. 210 he remarks: "There seems to be some 

 difference of opinion as to the description of country 

 and localities most frequented by the Desert Sparrow, 

 and also regarding the situations selected by it -for ita 

 nest. AH the evidence, however, points to the species 

 being partial to sandy spots, and it probably occurs 

 both on the outskirts of the oafes and in the more open 

 country, and nests in trees as well as in the holes of 

 well-sides, or similar sites. Mr. Dodson, alluding to 

 the birds of this species met with in Tripoli, says that 

 -he observed them only in palm-trees, where, apparently, 

 they were breeding. Baron v. Erlanger . . . found 

 a nest in the hollow of an old desert tree, and was in- 

 formed by Herr Paul W. H. Spatz that these birds 

 nested among the sticks forming the nests of some of 

 the k-rger Raptores, built on similar desert trees. Dr. 

 Koenig, on the other hand, -appears to have found the 

 species nesting in the -crevices of well-sides. 



"In many of its habits, as well as m its note, the 

 Desert Sparrow seems to resemble the Tree Sparrow. 



three to six in number, and vary considerably in size, 

 shape, and colour ; they are usually of a pale greenish- 

 blue ground colour, thickly blotched -and mottled with 

 various shades of brown and lavender. They average 

 0.75 by 0.58. They are hatched at the end of twelve 

 days. The young remain in the nest for about twenty- 

 four days, during which time they are fed on grubs, 

 caterpillars, and partially digested food from the crops 

 of the old birds." The Cape Sparrow may be met with 

 from time to time in the bird market ; a pair was pur- 

 chased by the London Zcological Society in 1887. This 

 species was bred -by Mr. Seth-Sniith in 1901, who pub- 

 lished an account of his experience, illustrated by an 

 excellent plate representing both sexes, in The Avicul- 

 tural Magazine, 1st series, Vol. VII., pp. 165-167. 



GREY-HEADED OR SWAINSON'S SPARROW 

 (Passer diffusus [su-ainsoni"]) . 



Above rufous-brown ; lower back and rump bright 

 chestnut ; lesser and median coverts chestnut, the inner 

 median coverts white-tapped ; greater coverts brown, 

 with the outer edges reddish ; flights dark brown with 

 reddish edges ; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers 

 brown, with paler margins ; head and neck all round 

 and under surface dark grey, paler on throat and 

 abdomen ; under tail-coverts dull brown, edged wiith 

 whitish ; under wing coverts and axillaries rufous-brown, 

 the latter edged with white ; nights below dull ashy, 

 slightly reddish on inner margins ; beak black ; feet 

 reddish-brown ; irides chocolate. Female paler, abdo- 

 men and under tail-coverts whiter, otherwise like the 

 male.* Habitat, Bogos-land and Abyssinia to the 

 Zanzibar district in East Africa (Sharpe) ; Africa gene- 

 rally. (Shelley.) 



Von Heuglin (" Orn. Nordost Africas," Vol. I., pt. 2, 

 p. 635) speaks of this Sparrow as living in pairs. He 

 says: "Its behaviour, food, and call-note stamp it as 

 a true Sparrow, only the call-note is more g-rating. We 

 found its neets throughout the entire rainy season, some- 

 times in thatches, under roof -rafters, in holes in the 

 wall, sometimes in thick thorn-bushes." 



" The three-four eggs, moreover, much resemble those 

 of the House Sparrow, are not larger, but at the same 

 time somewhat smooth and more thick-shelled, marked 

 with deep earthy-brown on a pale brownish ground." 

 He figures an egg (PI. 48, fig. 2) measuring 0.8 by 0.72. 

 " Mr. Kuschel describes eggs from the Gold Coast as of 

 a stout oval form, with thin shells and a moderate gloss, 

 but very variable in colour, the ground Ibeing white or 

 rusty yellow. Those with the white ground have dusky 

 violet or brownish-red spots, clustered together at the 

 thick end, so as almost to hide the pale ground colour, 

 while those of a rusty yellow shade lack the violet 

 marks, but the obtuse end is covered with brownifh-red 

 spotr,. They measure 0.77 to 0.88 by 0.63 to 0.64." 

 (Shelley, "Birds of Africa," Vol. III., p. 255.) 



Capt. Shelley calls this species P. diffusus, which 

 Dr. Sharpe has regarded as a distinct species and Dr. 

 Hartert as a distinct sub-species. He says that with 

 an extiemely fine series before him he is unable to find 

 a difference to distinguish it -ais a sub- species ; nnd this 

 I can quite believe, seeing that our common Sparrow 

 varies eonsiderablv in measurement and in purity of 

 colouring. This Ibird is occasionally imported singly, 

 or in small numbers, among other African birds. The 

 London Zoological Society has received it from South 

 Africa, and in 1895 I purchased one out of several then 

 in the market ; it proved to be a hen, and, being kept 

 with Weavers and Buntings, it proved harmless enough, 



* The female describee! by Rnss was evidently in -winter 

 plumage, th? beak being horn yellowish with whiter under 

 mandible. 



