92 



THE 

 TREE SPARROW IN THE LAKE DISTRICT. 



Rev. H. a. MACPHERSON, INI. A., M.B.O.U., Etc., 

 A tithor of the ' Visitation of Pallas s Sand-Groiisc to Scotland' etc. 



Mr. Whitlock is no doubt right in his suggestion that the Tree 

 Sparrow is a scarce bird in the North of England ; or at least in the 

 North-West of England, for which district alone I am responsible. 

 In Cumberland it occurs very sparingly, even in the winter months, 

 when it is chiefly noticed; as in January 1890, when, of five hundred 

 Sparrows caught for shooting matches near Carlisle, three birds 

 proved to be identical with tliis species. I have seen it breeding 

 near Howtown ; Mr. Duckworth found it nesting near Kirkoswald, 

 and a third colony exists on our coast ; but I cannot name with 

 certainty any locality for its breeding in Westmorland, or in the 

 adjacent district of Furness. Many years ago I found it nesting in 

 an old wall at Fontainebleau ; and anyone who visits the Paris Bird 

 Market in the month of June will find youiig birds of this species 

 and the House Sparrow in nearly equal numbers, young feathered 

 chicks being offered for half a franc a piece by the enterprising bird 

 merchants. Such, at least, was my experience. Some ten years ago 

 we used to find the Tree Sparrow nesting in pollard willows near 

 Oxford ; and there I noticed a point which Mr. Whitlock has not 

 discussed, viz., that this species is apt to flock with Greenfinches 

 {Lii^iiriiiiis chloris) and other small birds in the autumn months. 

 Mr. Whitlock does not allude, either, to this species fraternising with 

 the House Sparrow ; but where the two species breed in proximity, 

 individuals will be found to seek the company of the other species. 

 A very charming colony of Tree Sparrows, perhaps the strongest of 

 the half-a-dozen colonies that we know to exist in the Western 

 Highlands, frequents a ruined chapel, the shrine of St. Donan, in the 

 island of Eigg. Since it was noticed by Mr. W. Evans, in 1884, it has 

 been strictly protected by my relatives as they are proud of their 

 Tree Sparrows. I visited the birds in 1885 and 1886, and found 

 them on good terms with the House Sparrows ; I have a note, for 

 instance, of spending twenty minutes in quietly watching a party of 

 five Tree Sparrows nesting in a thatched roof; the centre of the 

 party was a lively House Sparrow, which seemed to enjoy the com- 

 pany of his neighbours amazingly. Whether the two species inter- 

 breed in a wild state, I cannot positively say. I saw, in Eigg, one 

 bird that might be a hybrid ; on the Rhine I once met with a bird 

 that I felt quite satisfied was a half-breed, but the day being a 



Naturalist, 



