HEDGE-SPARROW OR DUNNOCK 103 



the relations between old and young, and the cause of the disputes 

 that take place have yet to be ascertained. 



Hedge-sparrows appear, comparatively speaking, to suffer little 

 from the effects of cold weather. This is due to the fact, proved 

 both by post-mortems and observation, that, besides eating insects, 

 they feed largely upon seeds, which they pick up from the ground, 

 thus aiding the gardener in his eternal war upon weeds. According 

 to Naumann, they swallow the seeds without shelling, the work of 

 grinding being done by the gizzard with the aid of the bits of grit that 

 are swallowed. Naumann, who kept the species in captivity, observed 

 that this habit of swallowing seeds whole was not due to any softness 

 of the bill. The latter is hard and sharp-edged, and able without 

 difficulty to cut through a grain of millet. 1 The hedge-sparrow 

 population is kept down not only by the frequent destruction of 

 clutches already mentioned, and by the mortality among the young, 

 but no doubt by a large mortality among the adult birds due to 

 their habit of feeding on the ground in sheltered places, where they 

 are pounced upon by the waiting cat the most inveterate enemy of 

 the feathered tribe. 



1 Vogel Mitteleuropas, i. p. 79. 



