138 cassell's book of birds. 



Well-watered plains, abounding in mimosa-bushes, afford the shelter most agreeable to these 

 birds, and from such localities they sally forth in large flocks to fall upon the fields of corn or grass. 

 They generally fly over a very limited extent of country, and exhibit so little timidity that they will 

 allow a man to approach quite close to them before taking alarm ; they are thus easily brought down 

 by a shot, which only drives the rest of the party to a short distance. Before the rainy season, when 

 the ground is parched and barren, the Golden Sparrow visits the villages and small towns in hope of 

 finding food in the surrounding farmyards and gardens, and though at first rather shy, soon loses all 

 fear of man. 



Incubation takes place during the period of the heavy rains, the flocks dividing into pairs about 

 the month of August, keeping at no great distance from each other, and often building close together. 

 The nest, like that of other Sparrows, is constructed, without much art, of such materials as happen to 

 be in the neighbourhood, and is placed but a few feet above the ground. The eggs, three or four in 

 number, are white, spotted with brown, and about eight lines in length. The young are seen flying 

 with their parents by the end of September or October. The moulting season is in the month of 

 January, and by June or July the coats of the adult birds have acquired their greatest beauty. We 

 have never seen the African Golden Sparrow in a cage, even in its own country, for though striking in 

 plumage, it is entirely deficient in song. 



THE ROCK SPARROW. 



The Rock Sparrow [Petronia rupeslris) is most undoubtedly to be classed with the preceding 

 birds, though differing from them in shape, colour, and habits. The body is compact, its length six 

 and a quarter inches, and breadth across the wings nine and a half inches, the female somewhat less. 

 The beak is comparatively strong, and the plumage very plain, resembling that of the female House 

 Sparrow. The back is greyish brown, marked with blackish-brown and greyish-white spots ; the 

 upper tail-covers grey, and striped, as is the forehead, with olive brown; over the eyes passes a lighter 

 streak, and the tail-feathers have a white spot on the under side. In winter the beak is of a brownish 

 grey, in summer of a yellow tint, the upper mandible being darker than the under ; the eyes arc 

 brown, and the tarsus reddish grey. There is but little difference in the appearance of the sexes 

 a'ter they have attained maturity, and females are often found as beautifully marked as the male. The 

 young are recognisable by a white spot upon the throat. 



In the South of France, Spain, Algiers, and the Canary Islands, the Rock Sparrow is extremely 

 common. It is found principally in mountainous districts, among old ruins, but is often met with 

 near towns or villages, and in lonely valleys ; it is by no means afraid of man, though it but 

 rarely comes down into the streets, preferring to remain in the retreats it has chosen in cliffs or old 

 towers, until compelled by hunger to seek its food in the adjacent fields. Above all other things it 

 prizes liberty, and exhibits a foresight and prudence in its intercourse with our race that distinguishes 

 it in a remarkable degree from the rest of its congeners. In its movements the Rock Sparrow 

 bears a considerable resemblance to the Cross-bill ; its flight is produced by a short, quick vibration 

 of the wings, upon which it poises itself with a hovering motion before perching. It hops nimbly 

 upon the ground, and while sitting assumes a defiant attitude, and wags its tail repeatedly. The voice 

 of this bird might almost be termed a song, and is not unlike that of the Bullfinch, though by no 

 means so agreeable or varied. The breeding season commences at the end of spring, or the beginning 

 of summer. This species builds in holes in rocks, walls, or roofs, and with so much precaution are 

 their retreats selected that it is extremely difficult to find a nest. The one we saw was constructed of 

 straws and bits of cloth and linen, carelessly intermixed, and lined with feathers, hair, and wool. 

 One of these little cradles is often used for years by the same birds, who make whatever improvements 



