THE FINCHES 145 



thick grass and dry weeds," says Cordeaux ; and adds that he has 

 "frequently distinguished large flocks of them very early in the 

 morning and late at night." 1 Lilford, in his Birds of Northampton, 

 makes the same observation, but that they also roost in trees or 

 bushes is equally certain ; 2 and Bailly 3 tells us how, in Savoy, they 

 flock to the woods, in troops, at sunset, where they make ready for 

 the night, choosing, more particularly, for their sleeping - trees, the 

 oak and the witch-elm. Here they will dispute for places, and 

 indulge in a little last conversation, and a feeble little "pee, pee, 

 pee, pee, pee " continues to be heard out of the darkness, long after 

 their proper bedtime. Yet withal they are early risers, and long 

 before the sun is up fly out, either all together or in companies 

 that follow one another to their accustomed feeding haunts. 



But the house- and the tree-sparrow exhibit some peculiarities in 

 their roosting habits which seem to stand in relation to the domed 

 or otherwise enclosed nest, which with the former bird is general 

 and with the latter invariable. Thus, during the winter, holes and 

 the nests of various birds, are made use of as sleeping-places by 

 both the species ; but whilst the house-sparrow chooses its own, or 

 those of the swallow or house-martin, by preference, the tree-sparrow 

 favours crows' or hawks' nests also the woodpecker's, but that may 

 be classed under holes. Old walls and quarries, with such accommo- 

 dation as is to be found under the eaves or windows of outhouses and 

 buildings, are likewise common to the two, with the general distinc- 

 tion that while the house-sparrow's taste admits of, or even prefers, 

 the close contiguity of humanity, the other, guided by a higher 

 instinct, avoids it as far as is practicable. In such and such-like cosy 

 nooks and crannies several birds will nestle together in apparent 

 harmony, which, however, permits of some squabbling, over which 

 darkness gradually exerts its well-known sedative influence. 4 To the 

 above the interesting statement is added that the house-sparrow, at 



1 Birds of the Number District. 



- Naumann, Naturgeschichte der Vogel Mitteleuropas, iii. 



3 Ornithologie de la Savoie. 4 Naumaun, op. cit. 



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