122 



COUNTRY RAMBLES- 



When one comes to look carefully at a clean specimen of the 

 much-despised House Sparrow (especially the male bird), he is quite 

 a fine-feathered being. A particularly fine male was on the garden 

 fence to-day, and by the aid of my field glasses I could not help 

 admiring the black throat, and breast, reddish-brown back, and 

 white cheeks and neck sides. They are besy nesting in the roof, 

 carrying large white feathers, and other paraphernalia, with surprising 



NEST AND EGGS OF ROBIN. 



regularity. The male and female both take a great interest in the 

 nest-building, and a pair I watched to-day apparently had a great 

 discussion in the spouting as to whether a certain piece of straw 

 should be used, or put into stock. The chirpings (Sparrow language, 

 no doubt), were almost deafening, and several Sparrows on the 

 neighbouring chimney-pots seemed to evince considerable interest 



