Birds by the Wayside 381 



pies as those at Medinet-Abu and Wadi Sabua? In the far- 

 away days of Moses no mention is made of Passer domesti- 

 ciis among the zoological plagues of Egypt, hence we sur- 

 mise that this plague is of more recent origin. While speak- 

 ing of plagues it may be well to advert to the theory recently 

 advanced by a scientist, (whose name cannot be recalled,) 

 that the cat became sacred to the ancient Egyptians, because 

 it was observed that where cats were plentiful the people 

 were spared the ravages of the bubonic plague. Instead of 

 an abatement of the plague of flies, even to the last individ- 

 ual, their present abundance would suggest that all were re- 

 ligiously preserved, and that all had been breeding, according 

 to the law of its kind, ever since. Having flies on him does 

 not appear to trouble the modern Egyptian; possibly his face 

 would feel immodestly bare without at least a dozen flies cov- 

 ering it. This pest swarmed about the temples, even about 

 those at a distance from human habitations ; so also did the 

 House Sparrow with its hateful yelpings. 



In the House Sparrow of Egypt Dr. John C. Phillips has 

 detected sufficient variation from the type form to entitle it 

 to the distinction of a subspecies, and has named it Passer 

 doniesticus chephreni. Thus to all our other troubles with 

 this villian we have the additional trouble of subspecies, such 

 as Passer doniesticus chephreni, Passer doniesticus niloticus, 

 Passer doniesticus hihlicus, and Passer domesticus indicus. 

 (Note the last syllable in each name!) To the ordinary 

 tourist in their general appearance, their behavior, their in- 

 decent clamorings, and their other thoroughly objectionable 

 qualities, these subspecies present no differences from Passer 

 domesticus, and it seems that we might save a deal of bother 

 by calling him and his whole tribe simply and plainly " the 

 cuss." 



My stay in Spain was entirely too brief tO' admit of obser- 

 vations on the character at home of the Spanish Sparrow 

 (Passer hispaniolensis) ; but when met abroad his behavior 

 was that of a perfect gentleman. The first meeting with this 

 species in Egypt was just beyond the mud houses of Den- 



