NOTES ON THE TREE-SPARROW IN DONEGAL. 299 



and the adult birds that I saw in different places, must have 

 represented four or five pairs. In each year I believe that I had 

 practically all the breeding birds under observation. 



I give the notes from my bird diary. The accompanying 

 diagram shows the different nests to which I make reference in it. 



June 6th, 1915. — I went into E — garden and soon saw a pair 

 of Tree- Sparrows feeding their young in a nest (A) in the south 

 wall. I watched the birds at intervals through the day. The 

 young are about half grown. The nest is in just another such 

 hole as the nest that I found here before (1) was in, perhaps 

 fifty yards away from it. 



I then went to the wall where I had found the other nest (2) 

 in 1907, and was very much' surprised to find a nest there also 

 (C), possibly in the very hole where the birds nested before. 

 Indeed I think that there is little or no doubt about the hole, as 

 I had taken out a stone to get to the nest, and then replaced it. 

 There were young birds in the nest, not very long hatched. I 

 did not see the old birds well enough to identify them with 

 certainty as Tree-Sparrows, but I have no real doubt about 

 them. Later in the day I went over to D — garden where I had 

 seen a pair of Tree-Sparrows with young in 1907 (3), and I 

 found a pair of Tree-Sparrows there also. It is very surprising 

 to find just the same number of birds breeding in just the same 

 situations as in 1907. I did not go into this garden after these 

 Sparrows, but I saw them at a pretty close range, and they were 

 obviously looking after young. 



8th. — I went to R — garden. I saw a couple of young Tree- 

 Sparrows being fed on the top of the wall. I do not think that 

 they could be from the nest that I found in the garden (A), as I 

 went to this nest and saw young birds still in it, very well 

 feathered but hardly ready to leave yet. I went to the other 

 nest (C) in the wall of the field, and identified one of the parent 

 Tree-Sparrows with certainty. 



I saw one or two nests of the House- Sparrow, but there are 

 certainly not as many of these round the house and garden as 

 there used to be before I found the Tree- Sparrows. 



In the afternoon I went out to the garden again. There are 

 certainly more than one pair of Tree- Sparrows round this 

 garden. I had three adult birds in sight at one time. 



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