i82 RURAL BIRD LIFE. 



the accustomed haunts of the bird in the villages and 



o 



near the farm-houses are not lessened in numbers to any 

 perceptible degree. Yet the accounting for these vast 

 flocks is simple two-thirds of them at least are birds 

 of the year. 



Sparrows are very pugnacious birds, and it is no un- 

 common sight to witness a number of them all taking 

 part in a fierce combat amongst themselves, probably 

 over some tempting morsel of food, or through their very 

 pugnacious nature, for if two birds commence fighting 

 they are speedily joined by others, and very soon the 

 combat becomes general. In the hot months of the 

 year the Sparrow appears to be possessed with an in- 

 ordinate love for dusting itself. Sometimes as many as 

 half a dozen are seen enjoying this luxury in company, 

 and so persistent are they in this dusting, that I have 

 seen them leave the limestone roads of Derbyshire with 

 their plumage white as snow. 



But few persons defend the Sparrow, and, indeed, I 

 fear his inordinate love of grain and fruit form an in- 

 surmountable barrier to his ever getting into the good 

 graces of the farmer and gardener. But after all the 

 Sparrow has a few good qualities, which would prove of 

 service to him if they were more generally known. In 

 the spring and early summer months, when his young 

 are being reared, his food consists largely of the cater- 

 pillar of the cabbage butterfly ; as also does the perfect 

 insect, and we often see him pursuing them in the air 

 like the Flycatcher. But this is not all : the flies which 

 abound in our houses are also consumed by the Sparrow, 

 as are spiders and the grubs which infest the buds of 

 the fruit trees. Even when feeding on the grain in the 

 autumn months his inroads are not entirely confined to 

 that, for seeds of the most troublesome weeds are eaten. 



