FKINOILLID^E. 185 



The Tree Sparrow is a rather smaller and more 

 slightly-made bird than the well-known House 

 Sparrow, and, though not very brightly coloured, is 

 nevertheless a very pretty bird. The beak is dark 

 bluish lead-colour, nearly black ; irides hazel; head 

 and nape reddish chocolate -colour : from the base 

 of the upper mandible to the eye there is a narrow 

 streak of black which passes under the eye and over 

 the ear-coverts; the ear-coverts are also black; 

 cheeks and a broadish streak down the sides of the 

 neck, broadening at the base and forming a sort of 

 of collar from the breast, dull white ; back and 

 scapulars reddish brown, streaked with black ; rump 

 and tail-coverts olive-brown, the centres of the 

 feathers narrowly streaked with dusky ; lesser wing- 

 coverts black, slightly edged with reddish brown and 

 tipped with white, making a bar of white across the 

 wing; the greater wing-coverts are the same, the 

 white tips making a second bar across the wing; 

 quills dusky, edged more broadly at the base and 

 about half-way down with light yellowish brown ; 

 tertials black, rather broadly margined with reddish 

 brown ; throat to the centre of the breast black, rest 

 of the under parts a sort of dull smoke-colour ; legs, 

 toes and claws pale brown. 



The egg of the Tree Sparrow, except that it is 

 rather smaller, is much like that of the House 

 Sparrow namely, white, much speckled with dusky. 



