note, a somewhat musical and shrill chirp. They are very noisy birds when 

 their nesting-site is disturbed, and they will chatter defiance at the intruder 

 from the safety of the neighbouring tree-tops. 



The Tree Sparrow very probably pairs for life, as the same nesting-sites 

 are tenanted yearly. It is not a very early breeder, as fresh eggs are usually 

 to be found in the beginning of May, nest-building being usually begun in 

 the latter half of April. The site chosen is somewhat varied : at times 

 the nest is placed in a hollow branch of some tree; it is also often built in 

 a hole in the thatch of a barn or outhouse, or in a hole in a disused quarry 

 among the rocks, or in the thick top of some fir-tree. In Norfolk I have 

 seen numbers of nests in the little boxes put up in trees for Tits and 

 Starlings, and have found two or three nests in dry-stone dykes. The Tree 

 Sparrow is, however, most fond of breeding in the top of the stump of some 

 pollard willow. In many parts of England broad ditches take the place of 

 hedges in dividing the fields, and along these ditches there are nearly always 

 rows of pollard willows. The stumps of these willows are full of holes in 

 fact, a paradise for Tree Sparrows and I have seen as many as five nests 

 in one stump. 



The nest is made rather in the same way as the House Sparrow's, but 

 does not contain such an assortment of rubbish. It is built externally of 

 straw, dry grass, and fine rootlets, lined with a profusion of feathers, wool, 

 and hair. If the nest be built in a hole it is usually cup-shaped, but if 

 the site be open it is domed and compactly built. 



From four to six eggs are laid : they are somewhat like those of the 

 House Sparrow, but are usually smaller, redder in colour, and as a rule darker. 

 The eggs in each clutch are very similar in colour, except one egg, which is 

 generally much lighter than the others. The ground-colour is bluish white, but 

 the markings are so fine and evenly distributed over the entire surface, that 

 it is usually quite hidden. Surface markings are grey, greyish brown, 

 greenish brown and black, underlying markings being violet grey. On 

 some specimens the markings are large and bold, on others very fine and 

 evenly distributed, while on some eggs they consist of very fine streaks or 

 indistinct mottlings. They vary in length from '84 to 71 inch, and in 

 breadth from '61 to "53 inch. Three broods are sometimes reared in the 

 season. 



A most interesting distinction between the Tree Sparrow and the House 

 Sparrow is that the male and female of the former species are almost 

 precisely similar in plumage. 



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