THE SPARROW IN AMERICA. 59 



call, are enough to satisfy the most skeptical that she 

 is a genuine seducer. The male, though generally anx- 

 ious, does not always obey her summons. From the 

 foregoing statements, it is obvious that sexual inter- 

 course is not always indulged in with a view of propa- 

 gating the species, but is frequently performed as a 

 mere sensual gratification. The overstimulated life 

 which these birds lead, has doubtless produced that 

 excessive amativeness which is so conspicuous a feature 

 of their character. 



Niclifi cation, as previously remarked, commences early, 

 sometimes as early as the first week of April, but 

 usually not before the last week of March, or the begin- 

 ning of April. The labors of nest-building are mutually 

 shared, both birds working with a perseverance and 

 diligence truly commendatory. The materials out of 

 which the domicile is built, are mostly gathered by the 

 male, his partner attending to their proper adjustment. 

 I have seen more than a single female engaged in assist- 

 ing the male in such work. Iir February, 1875, my 

 attention was called to a pair of females and a single 

 male, carrying dried grasses and feathers to a certain 

 tree-hollow. The most perfect good-will and harmony 

 prevailed among the members of this trio. When the 

 weather was unusually severe, labor was suspended, to 

 be resumed on the return of milder climate. Myself 

 and friends anxiously awaited to see what would be the 

 ultimate result of this tripartite covenant, but before the 

 nest had reached completion, from some cause unknown 

 to us, the locality was deserted, and has not since been 

 occupied. Perhaps the odd female was a young bird 

 that had been hatched late in the season, and who, being 

 strongly attached to her parents, had taken this means of 



