246 BRITISH BIRDS. 



This bird, as seen in large smoky towns, is gen- 

 erally dirty and unpleasant in its appearance; but 

 among barns and stack-yards the cock bird ex- 

 hibits an agreeable variety in his plumage, and is 

 far from being the least beautiful of British birds. 



The Sparrow is subject to great varieties of 

 colour: in the British Museum there are several 

 white ones, with yellow eyes and bills, others more 

 or less mixed with brown, and some entirely black. 

 A pair of white Sparrows were sent to this work, 

 by Raleigh Trevelyan, Esq., of Netherwitton. 



In no country is the Sparrow found in desert 

 places, or at a distance from the dwellings of man. 

 It does not, like other birds, shelter itself in woods 

 and forests, or seek its subsistence in uninhabited 

 plains, but is a resident in towns and villages; it 

 follows society, and lives at its expence: granaries, 

 barns, court-yards, pigeon-houses, and, in short, 

 all places where grain is scattered, being its 

 favourite resorts. Count de Buifon says, "It is ex- 

 tremely destructive, its plumage is entirely useless, 

 its flesh indifferent food, its notes are grating to 

 the ear, and its familiarity and petulance disgust- 

 ing." But let us not condemn a whole species, 

 because we have in some instances, found them 

 troublesome or inconvenient. The uses to which 

 they are subservient, in the grand economy of na- 

 ture, we cannot so easily ascertain.* We have 

 already observed, that, in the destruction of cater- 

 pillars, they are eminently serviceable to vegeta- 

 tion, and in this respect alone, there is reason to 



* Buffon says the number of caterpillars a pair of Sparrows will 

 destroy in feeding their young, amounts to about 4000 weekly. 



