PASSERINE BIRDS. 1 35 



species. In the old males the top of the head and back of the neck are dark reddish brown, the 

 sides of the neck and cheeks white, the gorge, throat, and upper part of the breast deep brownish 

 black, and the sides reddish grey. The female is of a rusty white, mingled with grey on the under 

 part of the body, and the markings above the eyes are much paler than in the Sparrow of Northern 

 Europe. This bird is principally found in the South of France and Italy, but is quite unknown in the 

 interior of Spain and Egypt. The Passer Italicus will often mate with our common House Sparrow — 

 the plumage of the progeny being a curious mixture of that of both parents. 



THE SPANISH SPARROW. 



The Spanish Sparrow (Passer Hispanicus), or Marsh Sparrow (Passer salicicolus), is about six 

 inches long, and its breadth across the span of its wings about nine inches and a half. The female 

 is somewhat smaller than her mate, and in both birds the tail is generally longer and the tarsus 

 shorter than in the Common Sparrow. In the colour of its plumage, however, the Passer Hispanicus 

 bears but little resemblance to the House Sparrow ; in the old males the head and back of the neck 

 are of a dark reddish brown, the back is black, marked with chestnut, and die throat, breast, and sides 

 are almost black, with a pure white streak passing above the eyes. The rest of the plumage is similar 

 to that of the House Sparrow, and the females of both species are almost identical in appearance. 



The Marsh Sparrow inhabits such districts as are abundantly watered, and is found in Spain, 

 Greece, Northern Africa, and the Canary Islands, as also in some parts of Asia. It is eminently 

 a field bird, and is seldom found near human habitations, preferring the vicinity of bogs or water, 

 near which it is usually to be met with in large flocks. In Egypt these birds are more frequently to 

 be seen than any other species. Bolle tells us that the date-palm is very attractive to them, and that 

 for the sake of the shelter afforded by its crown of leaves, they will occasionally desert their favourite 

 swamps — especially in Egypt, where they may be frequently seen near villages rich in these trees, 

 whilst such as do not possess them are never visited. The same writer also mentions that on one 

 occasion he saw a settlement of some hundreds living under the roof of a church. The flight of the 

 Marsh Sparrows is very rapid, and, unlike the rest of their race, they keep quite close together when 

 on the wing. In Egypt they may often be seen flying over fields of rice in such dense masses tiiat 

 numbers might be brought down at a shot. Their voice is considerably stronger, purer, and 

 more varied than that of the Common Sparrow, and their disposition much more shy and timorous. 

 The time of incubation in Egypt and the Canary Isles commences about February or March, and 

 at this season the palm-trees of the Delta are covered with their nests, the holes in the stems being 

 also employed as breeding-places. The nest itself is a very rude affair, and the eggs so closely 

 resemble those of the Field Sparrow that the most practised eye cannot distinguish between them. 

 By the month of May the young have left their home, and the parents at once set about making 

 preparations for another brood. In no part of the world are these birds regarded with favour. In 

 Egypt the damage done by them to the fields of rice is very serious, and Bolle gives us the following 

 account explanatory of the aversion in which they are held by the inhabitants of the Canary Isles. 

 The principal promenade of the capital, he tells us, is a most attractive, cheerful spot, encircled by 

 banana trees, and prettily decorated with fountains and flowers ; consequently, it is a favourite 

 resort of the beauty and fashion of the place during the long summer evenings. Night after night 

 elegant groups- may be seen lounging and sitting, listening to the music, and watching the drops of 

 water as they sparkle in the marble vases, or besprinkle the surrounding myrtles. You might imagine 

 yourself in some scene embodied from an old romance, when all at once a strange rustling noise 

 is heard in the summits of the neighbouring trees, and hosts of sparrows rise into die air, die birds 

 having been disturbed in their repose by the lighting of the lamps. The scene is at once changed 5 



