Nest, &c. 
Food. 
Varieties. 
266 PASSERES. FRINGILLA. SPARROW 
ern provinces of Europe, and TEmMMrINck assigns the great 
chains of the Alps and Pyrenees as its limits towards the 
south; the Fringilla cisalpina, a species nearly allied, sup- 
plying its place in the warmer parts of Europe. The spar- 
row is not particular in its choice of a place for nidification, 
being contented with any hole in a wall, in the thatch, or un- 
der the eaves of houses; and frequently dislodges the martin 
from the nest, fabricated with so much skill and labour.—Its 
own nest is, in all these situations, made conformable to the 
dimensions of the place selected, and consists of hay and fea- 
thers loosely and negligently put together. Under some 
circumstances, the sparrow will often build in trees er very 
lofty hedges; and the nest is then made of a much larger 
size, and firmer texture, with an arched top, but composed — 
of the above mentioned materials, with the addition of any 
soft substances, such as rags, wool, &c. that can be collected 
about the premises it frequents.—It lays five or six eggs, of 
a greyish-white, spotted with deep yellowish-grey, and ash- 
grey, and of a long oval form.—This bird feeds upon all | 
kinds of grain and seeds, and in the summer destroys vast 
numbers of larve, moths, and butterflies, with which its 
young are principally fed; thus making ample compensation 
for the havoc it commits in the ripening fields of corn. Al- 
though a bold and obtrusive bird (from its habits of familia- 
rity with the dwelling of man), it is very wary, and is not 
easily taken by snares; but great numbers are occasionally 
destroyed when at their nightly roost, by the bat-fowling net. 
In the country, the sparrow exhibits a gloss and intermix- 
ture of colours rarely to be seen in those inhabiting large 
towns, which soon became of a dingy and almost uniform 
hue, from the accumulation of dust and smoke upon their 
plumage. 
Varieties of this bird ,with more or less of a cream colour, 
are frequently met with; and I have seen specimens of an 
unvaried blackish-brown. 
