THE SPARROW. 67 



into the outside world on my verandah, by three 

 crows, who no doubt succeeded in helping it to a 

 speedy exit ; moreover,, the crow prevents the Sparrow 

 from making those huge untidy nests in trees in which 

 his soul delights at home ; in India he has to stick 

 rigidly to holes in buildings if he wants to be safe. 

 It is only due to Phihp to say that he is a most 

 affectionate father, and will do his utmost to warn his 

 young of danger, flying , with it and chattering in 

 the most impressive way when its safety is threatened ; 

 and I have been reproached for days by a cock- 

 sparrow whose offspring I had destroyed. For I 

 think it a wise proceeding to kill, on principle, every 

 Sparrow I can get hold of, and to encourage others 

 to do the same. There can be no doubt that whatever 

 his function in the world in primitive times, Philip 

 has now outlived his usefulness, and that to a very 

 great extent. No bird is such a thorough and 

 unmitigated pest ; field and garden produce suffers 

 terribly from his attacks, and the insect diet he pro- 

 vides for his young cannot fairly be taken as a set-off 

 for this, especially when it is considered that ia his 

 absence such insects would be taken by better birds 

 than he, which would not levy toll on the crops as 

 well. And the Sparrow is only too well-known 

 as an enemy of all other birds which he can induce 

 to vacate his vicinity by single or combined attack, 



