346 



THE TREE SPARROW. 



rules, always subject to variation ; and to my mind, an intelligent bird and a good songster is 

 not one whit the less attractive because the colors of its plumage are not arranged precisely 

 according to the fanciers' rules. 



The noisy, familiar, imi)atient Spabeow is one of those creatures that has attached itself 

 to man, and follows him wherever he goes. 



Nothino- seems to daunt this bold little bird, which is equally at home in the fresh air of 

 the country farm, in the midst of a crowded city, or among the strange sights and sounds of a 



V^^ ■"* 0-- ^f , 



THE COMMON ENGLISH SPARROW and THE TREE SPARROW.— jPasser doiimlims and montamis. 



large railway station ; treating with equal indifference the slow-paced wagon horses, as they 

 deliberately drag their load over the country roads, the noisy cabs and omnibuses as they rattle 

 over the city pavements, and the snorting, puffing engines, as they dash through the stations 

 with a velocity that makes the earth tremble beneath their terrible rush. 



The Tree Sparrow may readily be distinguished from the preceding species by the 

 chestnut head, the triangular patch of black on the cheeks, and the browner white of the lower 

 surface of the body. 



Tliis bii'd is not nearly so common as the house Sparrow, and generally places its nest in 

 trees in preference to thatch and walls. Sometimes, however, it follows the common Si)arrow 

 in the building of its domicile, and has been known to place its nest in the deserted home of a 

 crow or rook, making a dome like that of the common Sparrow when building in trees. Occa- 



