SPARROWS IN THE NURSERY 21 



fed it in the ash-tray as though she were unconscious 

 of the removal. When, however, the whole cage and 

 its contents disappeared it was quite useless for her to 

 pretend that nothing was wrong, so she treated me to 

 her best " Billingsgate." 



After the cage had been inside for about three- 

 quarters of an hour the young "spadgers" began to 

 feel the pangs of hunger, and made this known by 

 giving vent to a torrent of chirrups which differed in 

 no way from those that make the adult so offensive. 

 All that the poor mother could do was to answer from 

 the outside. I felt, that afternoon, that I was paying 

 off with interest some of my score against the sparrow. 



The next day I did not take the cage into the bunga- 

 low, because I wanted to ascertain whether sparrows 

 feed their young throughout the day, or whether they 

 indulge in a noonday siesta. They kept it up, at their 

 respective rates, throughout the day, although the ther- 

 mometer in the shade must have risen to 115. After 

 the hen had disburdened herself of the food she brought, 

 she would perch for a moment on the trellis, and pant 

 with open beak as though she were thoroughly ex- 

 hausted. 



I have long been trying to ascertain how birds in the 

 nest obtain the liquid they require. Do the succulent 

 caterpillars, on which young sparrows are fed, provide 

 them with sufficient moisture, or do the parents water 

 them? Although I spent several hours in watching 

 those sparrows, I am not able to answer the question 

 satisfactorily. I placed a bowl of water on the ground 

 near the cage, hoping that this would tempt the hen 



