134 SPANISH SPARROW. 



which Dr. Leith Adams says is very common in Malta, 

 and which he has labelled Passer salicarius, Vieillot. 

 Upon close comparison I could not discover any real 

 specific differences between these skins and our Com- 

 mon House Sparrow, P. domesticus. I wrote this to 

 Dr. L. Adams, and in reply that gentleman remarks: 

 — "In the absence of specimens for comparison, my 

 impressions have always been that our Sparrow in 

 Malta is a true type, or else a variety of the Passer 

 salicarius of Vieillot, and Sir W. Jardine, to whom 

 several type specimens were sent, says the same. I 

 have, however, since you wrote, made a very long 

 series, and sent it by a friend to Mr. Sclater, re- 

 questing he will make particular enquiry into the 

 subject, and publish his views in the 'Ibis.' It is 

 very curious in such a central place as Malta, where 

 so many naturalists have touched, that we should be 

 still in doubt as to the common Sparrow of the island." 

 Brehm, in Badeker's "European Eggs," says of this 

 bird: — "It lays from four to six eggs, which are some- 

 what smaller than those of the House Sparrow, bluish 

 or greenish white, like those of the Italian Sparrow, 

 often very dark at the thick end; generally oval, but 

 sometimes much lengthened." 



The male in spring plumage has the top of the 

 head and the nape dark chesnut brown; back black, 

 streaked with cream-colour; upper tail coverts oliva- 

 ceous brown; cheeks and superciliary ridge pure white; 

 throat and upper part of breast deep black, while the 

 lower parts of the breast and flanks are thickly spotted 

 with large black markings on a white ground; middle 

 of the abdomen and under tail coverts dirty white. 

 The wings with a broad band of white across them, 

 formed by the tips of the lesser coverts, and there 



