252 fringillidjE. 



day in going about the corn-fields for the purpose of shooting 

 them. The report of his gun was frequently heard, but no testi- 

 mony in the shape of sparrows was ever produced, by which he 

 could be convicted of the shedding of blood. We spent one day 

 with him. Whenever he saw that two or three sparrows had 

 alighted together on the standing corn sufficiently near, which' was 

 by no means seldom, he fired at them. Often as he did so, not 

 a bird fell, though how much of the grain was thereby sacrificed, 

 we cannot take upon ourselves to say, for it could not be missed. 

 The shooter would not believe that this result was owing |to his 

 want of skill, and more than once trampled down the grain to 

 look after the imaginary fallen birds, which were in reality afar 

 off rejoicing at their escape. When the wages of this sportsman, 

 and the value of the ammunition he expended, together with the 

 grain destroyed by liim, are considered, there can be little doubt 

 that the amount of damage, which the sparrows could have done 

 (and nevertheless did do), must be trivial in comparison. Many 

 well-attested accounts have been published of the destruction of 

 crops by insects, in consequence of small birds, (sparrows in 

 particular,) being destroyed for their pilfering propensities. When 

 in France in 1841, I was made acquainted with a recent in- 

 stance of tins kind. ' In the fine rich district of Burgundy, lying 

 to the south of Auxerre, and chiefly covered with vineyards, small 

 birds had been some time before destroyed in great numbers. An 

 extraordinary increase of caterpillars, &c, soon became apparent, 

 and occasioned such immense damage to the crops, that a law was 

 passed, prohibitory of the future destruction of the birds. 



The boldness and impudence of sparrows in obtruding them- 

 selves everywhere, are somewhat redeemed by the comicality of 

 their manners. I was once much amused by observing one 

 literally " dancing attendance " on a pet squirrel, as it breakfasted 

 on bread in the wheel of the cage : the bird hopped about all the 

 while, eagerly eyeing the squirrel, and picking up every crumb 

 that fell. 



The freedom from all fear on the part of sparrows, is particu- 

 larly manifest by their feeding close to ferocious animals in zoo- 



