THE WHATISIT. 87 



felt so disposed, and on taking it down and opening 

 the lid, I found that it contained a very snug nest 

 made of hay and lined with feathers, among which lay 

 five eggs not much unlike those of the domestic Sparrow, 

 only rounder. Whose could they be? I watched for 

 a long time, but no bird went near the box, and so I 

 withdrew lest they should take cold and spoil. Some 

 time afterwards on going suddenly into the aviary, what 

 should I see pop out of the nest-box in question but 

 the mysterious bird that for want of a better name I 

 had called after "Georgie Hackett" the Whatisit. 



So she was a hen, and that was her nest, and those 

 were her eggs and she was a mere Sparrow after all. 

 I was in hopes she might have paired with some of 

 the other birds, and might have a brood of mules, but 

 no, after she had been sitting for three weeks or per- 

 haps a month, I took them away and found that they 

 were clear. Then I introduced a Java Sparrow, a Saffron 

 Finch (also a Sparrow) and a House Sparrow, hoping 

 that my nondescript might pair with one or other of 

 them, but she never did, though I kept her for several 

 years and each season she nested and laid two or 

 three lots of eggs. 



Hoping to identify the species, I showed the bird 

 to a number of fanciers, and even sent her to the 

 Crystal Palace Show, but she remained unknown to 

 the last: for one day she found out a weak place in 

 the aviary and escaped, as did others of the inmate' , 



