HOUSE SPARROW. 175 



On the 26th ult. I was surprised to see near the aviary a 

 strange male Serin, which stayed close by for some time, 

 and so far as one could possibly judge, it was not an escaped 

 bird. During the afternoon I heard it singing merrily its 

 trivial song in the top of some tall oaks a few hundred yards 

 from the aviary." (G. C. Swailes, Field, 5th June 1897.) 



Mr. F. Boyes confirms Mr. Swailes's statement, and 

 remarks that he also saw and heard the wild bird. 



HOUSE SPARROW. 



Passer domesticus (Z.). 



Resident, general, very numerous ; partially migratory in autumn. 



The first Yorkshire allusion to the Sparrow is in a com- 

 munication from Ralph Johnson of Brignall, near Greta 

 Bridge, to John Ray, bearing date 2gth March 1672 : 



" Honoured Sir, I have only observed this change from 

 proper colours to white . . . and in Sparrows (P. domesticus) 

 which is usual. . . ." ("Correspondence of John Ray," p. 96.) 



Thomas A His, 1844, wrote : 



Passer domesticus. House Sparrow Abundant everywhere. 



The ubiquitous Sparrow, which is only too numerous in 

 this as in other counties, flourishes exceedingly wherever 

 there are human habitations, and even in the dales up to an 

 elevation of 1000 feet ; in the latter situations it sometimes 

 nests in rocks with Jackdaws and Starlings away from 

 civilization. 



Common as this bird is, however, it may not be generally 

 known that it is a regular migrant, and of this fact there is 

 abundant evidence in the returns sent in from the light 

 stations on the coast, which show that both in spring and 

 autumn considerable numbers cross the North Sea ; in the 

 latter season from the first week in September to the end 

 of the year, and often in flocks of hundreds, some of which 



