HYBRID BIRDS lxxxi 



of Mr. Kichard Mann's opinion that it was a male hybrid 

 between the cock House Sparrow and female Tree Sparrow, 

 a view in which Mr. Johnson and Mr. Thorpe concurred. 

 Knowing by experience how readily my friends in Lakeland 

 accept my opinion on avian questions as final, I judged it best 

 to secure an outside criticism, and therefore despatched 

 ' Phillip Sparrow ' to my old friend Mr. 0. V. Aplin, whom I 

 knew shared my own strong interest in the hybridity of birds. 

 Mr. Aplin replied on the 24th of May 1892: < The hybrid 

 Sparrow arrived safely. I have compared it with a series of 

 skins of both species, and have made the following notes upon 

 it. The beak is that of P. domesticus, but is a little smaller. 

 Head intermediate in shape, and of the size of that of P. mon- 

 tanus. Whole size rather shorter than that of P. domesticus. 

 Markings of head of the pattern of P. domesticus, but quite 

 distinct in colour, and quite peculiar to itself. Nape strangely 

 grey, mixed across the narrow part with tan. Whole upper 

 parts curiously cold in tint ; unlike either species in this respect. 

 The mantle most nearly resembles that of P. montanus, lower 

 back and upper tail coverts even greyer than P. domesticus, 

 which in turn is greyer there than in P. montanus. As to the 

 wings, the brown edging of the hybrid's quills is paler and 

 colder than either. Small coverts have the large amount of 

 white seen in P. domesticus, and want the exposed black seen 

 in P. montanus. The greater coverts want the white tips 

 which make a second white line across the wing of P. montanus. 

 The black on the chin and throat barely exceeds in amount that 

 of P. montanus. It is brownish and poor in quality ; and it is 

 considerably less extensive than in P. domesticus, and does not 

 extend down to the upper breast or spread out below, as it does 

 in P. domesticus. I am certainly of opinion that the bird is a 

 hybrid between Passer domesticus and P. montanus, and a most 

 interesting specimen.' j The comparative scarcity of the Hooded 

 Crow within the limits of Lakeland renders the occurrence of 

 hybrids between this well-marked species and the Carrion Crow 

 an uncommon event. The only two examples of cross-bred 

 Hoodies that have come under my notice in this part of 

 England have already been recorded. One of the two, which 



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