THE ENGLISH SPARROW. 213 



3. Can it hear well ? 



4. Is its sight as keen as your own ? 



5. What does it eat ? It was imported in the hope 

 that it would rid the country of certain insect pests. 

 Do you find it eating insects at all? 



6. If other species of birds are found in the same 

 locality, how do the sparrows behave toward the other 

 birds ? 



7. What kind of a nest does the sparrow build ? At 

 what season ? Out of what materials ? How put together ? 

 Where is it located ? 



8. How many eggs are laid in the nest ? How long are 

 these in hatching ? How long before the little birds leave 

 the nest ? What do the fledgelings eat ? How do they 

 get their food ? Is more than one brood reared each sum- 

 mer by a single pair ? 



9. What physical casualties of weather, temperature, 

 etc., have you observed to destroy the eggs or young? 



10. What are the natural enemies of the species ? 



11. Are the fatalities to the young more, or less, fre- 

 quent than with other animals you have studied? 



Study of a Live Specimen. With a live bird in hand, 

 note : 



1. The shape of its body. How is ifc adapted for pro- 

 gression through the air ? How does the plumage of the 

 body improve this adaptation ? 



2. The shape and attachment of its wings. What is 

 their shape above ? Below ? What is their anterior out- 

 line when extended ? Their posterior ? Find three prin- 

 cipal joints in one wing. Note the zigzag position these 

 joints take, even in the extended wing. Note the mem- 

 brane stretched between the first and second joints. Of 

 what advantage is it for flying? Why are the wings 

 attached at the dorsal side of the body ? 



