SPARROW. 



SPARROW. 



HOUSE SPARROW. COMMON SPARROW. 

 PLATE LXXXIII. 



Passer domesticus, SELBY. 



Fringilla Jomestica, PENNANT. MONTAGU. 



Pyrgita domes/tea, FLEMING. 



rriHE nest, which is large in size, and very loosely 

 -- compacted, 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 con- 

 venient 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 

 requirements 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 con- 

 tinued 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, 

 VOL. n. c 



