TREE-SPARROW. 
PASSER MONTANUS. 
Though stated by various authors to be widely distributed over the British Islands, it is only in the southern 
and eastern counties of England and in East Lothian that I have recognized the Tree-Sparrow. 
. . * n S0 “® parts ° f N ° rfolk this s P ecies is almcst as numerous as the House-Sparrow, a few remaining in the 
vicmi y ° f their ( l uarters throughout the year. According to my own observations, this Sparrow is only an 
occasional visitor to the downs of Sussex, arriving in flocks on the approach of cold weather, passing gradually 
along the range of lulls from east to west, and again making their appearance while on the return journey in the 
spring. Towards the end of March 1875 I remarked a few of these birds, in company with Chaffinches and 
Bramblmgs, resorting to the large beech-woods at Palmer, near Brighton; after remaining in the district till 
about the middle of April the flock gradually disappeared. On two or three occasions Tree-Sparrows were met 
with late m autumn flying along the links near Direlton and also between Canty Bay and Dunbar in East 
Lothian; in all probability these birds were migrants which had recently crossed the North Sea. 
Numbers of this species arrive on our eastern coasts from the northern countries of Europe during autumn 
While steaming in company with the herring-fleet, in order to make observations, I frequently noticed these 
birds while on passage. Occasionally, when weary and worn out, they would alight on board, and selecting 
some quiet corner, turn their heads over on their backs and puffing out their feathers instantly fall asleep. 
After resting for a time a few now and then flew down on the deck and peeked about among the crumbs of 
bread and other food provided for the accommodation of our small feathered visitors ; when revived they 
invariably took their departure before darkness set in, heading straight for the land. The migration appears to 
be continued through the whole of October, the latest straggler that I heard of being a single bird captured on 
board the ‘ Newarp' floating light during the gale that commenced on Monday the lltli of November, 1872, 
and continued during the whole of the week. On boarding the vessel on the 20th I learned that only seven 
birds had fallen on deck during the storm, the force of the wind being so great that the majority of those 
striking the lights were carried overboard. 
The scientific name of Passer montanus bestowed on this species appears as inappropriate as that of arboreus. 
Though Tree-Sparrows when moving westward on the approach of winter usually pass along the Sussex downs, 
I never on other occasions met with these birds in a hilly country, their strongholds in Great Britain bein"- 
evidently the flat portions of the midland and eastern counties. Many of the earlier writers on ornithology 
(who have been followed, in some instances, by those of a later date) exhibit but little knowledge concerning the 
habits of this species. The following lines are extracted from a well-known work : — “ It is now perfectly clear 
that this bird resides amongst trees only, and that it makes its nest in holes and cavities of such as arc decayed, 
and never amongst the branches nor in buildings.” I took especial pains to hunt out the breeding-quarters 
of these birds round several farms in the east of Norfolk during the summer of 1873, and in every instance the 
nests were placed amongst buildings, some in cowsheds, others under the tiles of outhouses, and three 
