SYCALIS PELZELNI. 67 



In towns they build in walls, like the English Sparrow ; in country 

 places they always select the domed nest of some Dendrocolaptine species 

 to breed in. Possibly in some districts where I have not been, this 

 Sparrow selects other breeding-sites ; my experience is that outside of 

 a town it never lays anywhere but in some domed nest, and at home I 

 frequently put up boxes for them in the trees, but they would not 

 notice them, though the Wrens and Swallows were glad to have them. 

 Sometimes they make choice of the large fabric of the Anumbius acuti- 

 caudatus, called Lefiatero in the vernacular ; but their claim to this 

 nest (even when the Lenateros are out of it) is frequently disputed by 

 other species which possess the same habit as this Sparrow, but are 

 more powerful than he. Their favourite breeding-place is, however, the 

 solid earthen structure of the Oven-bird ; and it is wonderful to see 

 how persistently and systematically they labour to drive out the lawful 

 owners birds so much larger and more powerful than themselves. 

 Early in spring, and before the advent of the Tree- Mar tins, the pair of 

 Sparrows begin haunting the neighbourhood of the oven they have 

 elected to take possession of, usually one pretty high up in a tree. As 

 the season advances their desire towards it increases, and they take up 

 their position on the very tree it is in ; and finally a particular branch 

 near the oven, commanding a good view of the entrance, is chosen for 

 a permanent resting-place. Here they spend a great portion of their 

 time in song, twitterings, and loving dalliance, and, if attentively ob- 

 served, they are seen with eyes ever fixed on the coveted abode. As 

 the need for a receptacle for the eggs becomes more urgent they grow 

 bolder, and in the absence of the owners flit about the oven, alight on 

 it, and even enter it. The Oven-bird appears to drive them off with 

 screams of indignation, but the moment he retires they are about it 

 again, and, even when it contains eggs or young birds, begin impudently 

 carrying in feathers, straws, and other materials for a nest, as if they 

 were already in undisputed possession. At this stage the Tree-Martins 

 ( Progne taper a] perhaps appear to complicate matters ; and even if these 

 last comers do not succeed in ousting the Oven-birds, they are sure to 

 seize the oven when it becomes vacant, and the Sparrows, in spite of their 

 earlier claim, are left out in the cold. But they do not take their defeat 

 quietly, or, rather, they do not know when they are beaten, but still 

 remain to harrass their fellow-pirates, just as they did the Oven-birds 

 before, bringing straws and feathers in their beaks, and when forced to 

 drop these materials and chased from the neighbourhood with great noise 

 and fury by the Tree-Martins, it is only to return undaunted in a few 

 minutes, bringing more straws and feathers. 



This Sparrow makes a rather large nest, neatly lined with horsehair, 



F2 



