CHAPTER XXXVII 



THE TREE-SPARROW 



OR "French sparrow," as the fenmen call him, is called the 

 tree-sparrow, mayhap, because he has nothing to do with 

 trees. I have never yet found his nest in any place but a 

 shed close to a cornfield, though I have heard of his building 

 in a hole in a tree. 



These little birds are common enough in the Broad dis- 

 trict, and any year I could go and get dozens of nests in 

 flowery June, and he is easily distinguished from the com- 

 mon or fiendish sparrow by his chestnut crown, his lighter 

 colour, and smaller size. His eggs, too, are smaller, darker, 

 and prettier than those of the common sparrow, and they 

 are laid later in the year than those of his confrere. 



Though many of them are resident, some come across 

 the North Sea in autumn to thieve and rob the farmer's 

 fields; they revel in a " new-lay." At the latter end of 

 May, when these pests seem to increase in numbers, they 

 may be seen working in parties with the common or thiev- 

 ing sparrow. They are, however, shyer, quicker in their 

 actions, and seemingly more intellectual. Nor are they 

 so injurious ; but they must be placed upon the con- 

 demned list, for the small good they do in eating grubs and 

 caterpillars in no way pays for the corn they steal. The 

 gardener need not trouble about them, for they do not seem 

 to like to work too near man's habitations, although they 

 will follow the plough with the rooks, peewits, and starlings, 

 feeding upon the grubs and wire-worms turned up by the 



share. 



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