IV 

 Sparrow Town 



FOR years the ivy on the house has been the 

 unchallenged home of a colony of sparrows. 

 How many pairs there are no census has yet shown ; 

 but year in and year out they live and increase, in 

 spite of enemies by day and night. 



Sparrows are like schoolboys. We all know how 

 at different seasons the British boy introduces a new 

 game. One day it is hoops, and then suddenly not 

 a Hoop is to be seen ; all the talk is about " alleys " 

 and " sixers." Then, like the hoops, the marbles are 

 gone, and tops are seen buzzing through the air, and 

 sometimes through windows. So it is with sparrows. 

 With the very first days of spring sunshine we see 

 two males dash from the house to the ground, a 

 crowd of other sparrows follow, all of whom like to 

 see a fight as much as any schoolboy. 



The two birds now " go for " each other in a most 

 desperate manner. Feathers fly in all directions, 

 while the hen for whom they are fighting sits in a 

 bush and cheers the combatants to stimulate courage. 



68 



