9 6 
PICTURES OF BIRD LIFE. 
sheaves, his incursions upon the kitchen-garden, his nests, which fill up spouts and 
pipes, and the havoc wrought in thatched roofs by his tunnels, he is the subject of 
deep hatred to most farmers. He has a good side to his character, indeed, the 
quantity of grubs and noxious insects that he devours during winter and early spring 
being very great; but country folks are profoundly prejudiced, and too often wage 
summary war upon him whenever advantage can be taken of his incaution. Sparrow 
clubs, however, and money paid from the rates to exterminate Sparrows, are now 
almost everywhere things of the past; but agricultural depression, we fear, rather than 
sounder ornithological views, has led to this improvement. The unfortunate starling 
is still too often shot because he seeks a sheltered corner in the dovecote, and while 
this continues, it is somewhat premature of the British farmer to boast of his 
enlightened views with respect to Sparrows. 
The Sparrow belongs to the great family of finches, remarkable for the short¬ 
ness, thickness, and powerful structure of the beak, the upper and lower mandibles 
being for the most part equally thick, so that it becomes a formidable tool with 
which to split open seeds, the kernels of stone-fruit, and the like. In the Sparrow, 
the beak is somewhat arched above, and the lower mandible is rather smaller than 
the upper. In the male the crown and back of the head are dark bluish ash ; the 
throat, a line by the eyes, and the front of the neck are black; above the eyes is a 
band of reddish-brown slightly mixed with white feathers. The upper plumage is 
dark brown edged with reddish-brown, and there is a single transverse white bar on 
the wing. The under parts are greyish white. In the female the head, neck, and 
breast are ash-brown and the rest of the plumage is less bright, and the bird is 
altogether more subdued in its demeanour. The length of a Sparrow is nearly 
six inches. It pairs early in the year, and hatches several broods during the fine 
weather, if undisturbed. The quarrels, chirpings, and scufflings of the old cock 
birds are well known, and all must have noticed how on a sudden, from apparently 
the most violent quarrel, the birds separate and fly off to their mates without any 
visible reason, much as Virgil’s bees ceased fighting, pulveris exigui jactu. The 
nest is placed in any gutter, ruinous chimney, or eave which will afford shelter ; a 
broken pot hung against a wall will attract them. An ivy-covered wall is a 
favourite locality for a colony, and much do the birds annoy the inmates of bed¬ 
rooms adjoining it by their chirping and noise at early dawn through the summer 
months. Occasionally they build in trees, but only in those near houses. The nest 
is then very large and dome-shaped, like a bag of straw lined with feathers, scraps 
of string, and worsted. But the bird varies the shape and size of its nest according 
