X. THE SPARROW. 



"Look now to little Philip Sparrow." Old Ballad. 



WHY NOT ? Philip himself would certainly say. Once 

 he must have been considered a friend of man, for his 

 nickname, derived doubtless from his note, is the earliest 

 known to have been given to any bird, though now not in 

 use, while Tom Tit, Mag Pie, and Jack Daw have been 

 allowed to retain theirs ; to say nothing of the redbreast, 

 whose real name has been quite dropped in favour of his 

 pet name of " Robin." But Philip has brought his un- 

 popularity on himself ; no doubt in England in the old 

 days when crows and kites and other enemies, then more 

 numerous, exercised on him the wholesome influence that 

 chey do in India, he was not sufficiently numerous to be a 

 nuisance, and so from his familiar habits was looked on 

 rather with a kindly eye. Of course I don't mean to im- 

 ply that crows and kites keep Sparrows down by catching 

 and eating old ones ; the bublime indifference of the Spar- 

 row in their presence is sufficient proof of the contrary. 

 But they exercise a ligid supervision over all young birds. 

 I remember actually seeing once a young Sparrow met on 

 its entrance into the outside world on my verandah by 

 three crows, who nc doubt succeeded in helping it to a 

 speedy exit ; moreover, the c/ow prevents the sparrow 

 from making those huge untidy nests in trees in which h s 



