18 BIRDS OF THE PLAINS 



valuable plants by preference. There is no denying 

 the fact that the sparrow does devour a certain amount 

 of fruit and grain, but, so far from being a pest, I 

 believe that the good it does by destroying noxious 

 insects far outweighs the harm. Adult sparrows fre- 

 quently feed on insects. I have watched them hawking 

 flies in company with the swifts, and the skill displayed 

 by the "spadger" showed that his was no 'prentice 

 hand at the game. 



Sparrow nestlings in the early stages are fed almost 

 exclusively on caterpillars, grubs, and insects. As there 

 are usually five or six baby sparrows in a brood, and as 

 these have appalling appetites, they must consume an 

 enormous number of insects. Let us work out a little 

 sum. We may assume that the sparrow brings at 

 least three caterpillars in each beakful of food she 

 carries to her brood. She feeds them at least fifteen 

 times in the hour, and works for not less than twelve 

 hours in the day. I timed the sparrows in question to 

 commence feeding operations at 5.30 a.m., and when I 

 left the bungalow at 6 p.m. the birds were still at it. 

 Thus the hen sparrow brings in something like 540 

 insects per diem to her brood. She feeds them on this 

 diet for at least twenty days, so that the brood is re- 

 sponsible for no less than 10,000 insects, mostly cater- 

 pillars, before its units are ready to fend for themselves. 

 According to Hume, the sparrow in India brings up 

 two broods in the year. I should have doubled this 

 figure, since the species appears to be always breeding. 

 But it is better to understate than exaggerate. We 

 thus arrive at the conclusion that the hen sparrow 



