580 HOMES ■WITHOUT HANDS. 



The last branch-building bird wMch will be mentioned in these 

 pages is the well-known Hedge Sparrow, or Hedge Accentor, 

 as it ought rightly to be called {Accentor modularius). The bird 

 derives its popular name from two peculiarities, one of person and 

 the other of habits. As its general tints are brown and black, 

 the name of Sparrow has been given to it, although it rightly be- 

 longs to the warblers. It may easily be distinguished from the 

 sparrow by its slender form, its blue-gray color, and the absence 

 of the black patches that mark the head and throat of the true 

 sparrow. 



It is very plentiful in England, and that it should be so is rath- 

 er remarkable on account of the exposed situation and conspicu- 

 ous form of its nest. The red-backed shrike is remiss enough in 

 placing its nest ; but the Hedge Sparrow seems to be utterly heed- 

 less on the subject, and appears absolutely to invite the attention 

 of its foes, which are many. 



First and foremost comes the bird-nesting boy, whose eyes are 

 generally so sharp that to conceal a nest from him is no easy 

 matter. Then the Hedge Sparrow is one of the earliest builders, 

 and so hasty is it in its proceedings that I have seen the half-fin- 

 ished nest filled with the snows of early spring. The bird had 

 been in such a hurry to set up housekeeping that she would not 

 even wait until the leaves were sufficiently large to shelter the 

 nest, and, as might be expected, the snow found an easy entrance 

 into the unprotected edifice. In consequence, moreover, of this 

 passion for early building, the nest is so conspicuous an object in 

 the leafless hedge that the most casual glance can not fail to de- 

 tect it, while the natural foes of the bird, namely, the boy, the 

 stoat, the cat, cuckoo, and others, find it the easiest of their prey. 



The boy, for example, who might not be able to reach the nest 

 of the shrike, which is placed some five or six feet from the 

 ground, has no difficulty whatever in harrying that of the Hedge 

 Sparrow, which is seldom more than two feet from the ground. 

 Moreover, although the older nest-hunters will not trouble them- 

 selves about eggs so common as those of the Hedge Sparrow, the 

 novices, and even many who ought to know better, can never re- 

 sist the round, shining blue shells, as they lie snugly packed away 

 in their basket-like receptacle. 



Then there is the cuckoo, that flies about the hedgerows, peer- 

 ing into every nest, and looking out for a foster home for her 

 eggs, which she can not hatch, and for the young which she can 



