302 NATURE STUDY REVIEW [9:9— Dec, 1913 



six lowland. It was also noted that in the foregoing group are 

 found three annual species and three biennial species. 



J. A. S. Drushel, 



St. Louis, Mo. 



Some Sparrow Observations 



Note. — The following paragraph is an extract from a report of five written 

 pages on observations made on a pair of sparrows, their nest, family, etc., 

 extending over some time during the spring of 1909. The observer was a 

 normal school student, over twenty years of age. It is improbable and a like 

 report from a scientific student would be of interest. Her sketch of the 

 behavior of the sparrows seems true enough to life. 



"One day the boldest one of the nestlings sat on one of the slats 

 of the shutter [behind which the nest had been built] and tumbled 

 off. It fell nine feet. When the mother bird discovered the young 

 bird she flew around the house chirping loudly. The father was 

 the next on the scene, and he also took up the cry and before a 

 minute had gone by there seemed to be an army of sparrows 

 around, all were chirping wildly. At last the mother flew away 

 and came back with a straw in its bill. She placed this before the 

 young bird, and mother and father began chirping together; each 

 took hold of the straw at the ends. The young sparrow caught the 

 straw in its bill. Four other sparrows joined on the ends. Three 

 at each end making seven sparrows in all counting the one that had 

 tumbled down.) They all flew up to the window holding on to the 

 straw, the young bird assisted [ing?] now and then on the journey, 

 while all the other birds in the neighborhood seemed to fly about 

 and call to them to keep up courage. The window ledge reached, 

 the young bird crept back to the nest while the other birds cele- 

 brated ." 



I am also enclosing a nature observation made by a small boy in last year's 

 third grade ( J think) on sparrows nesting under our veranda. I can vouch for 

 its truthfulness. He is a very keen observer. — C. H. Robison. 



I found a sparrow nest on the loth of July. It had four young 

 birds in it. On the 19 of July I went to see the nest. As I was 

 looking at them they all flew out on the ground. The mother bird 

 pick [ed] up one of the little birds by the neck and flew away with it 

 just as a cat takes her kitten. And the father bird did the same 

 with another one. The other two flew on the stupe [stoop] where 

 the mother bird could not find them. 



