THE SPARROW, 



The sparrow that " sitteth on the house-top," though 

 often talked of, is treated with great indifference; yet 

 there are many things respecting this bird which deserve 

 notice. One pair will sometimes bring up fourteen, 

 or even more, young ones in a season. "\Miile thus 

 employed, they will consume about four thousand cater- 

 pillars weekly. They likewise feed their brood with but- 

 terflies and other winged insects, each of which, if not 

 destroyed in this manner, would be productive of several 

 hundred caterpillars. So bold and persevering, also, are 

 they in providing for themselves and their young, that 

 they will steal grain from the trough of a pig, or contend 

 with the powerful turkey for its food ; and should they 

 be scared away, it is only for a moment, after which 

 they return in the hope of more plunder. House-spar- 

 rows have an appetite more accommodating than that of 

 any other of our birds. In spring, and the early part of 

 summer, they prey on insects; but when these tribes 



