SPARROW. 
•• 89 
Chauntry, Ipswich, that he has found a nest of the Sparrow 
in the outside of that of a Sparrow-Hawk—a singular locality 
with reference both to the name and the nature of the bird. 
; Whether,’ he observes, ‘the Hawk was keeping them till 
they increased in size, or whether he had come to terms of 
peace with them, I do not know.’ They also often build 
beneath the nests of the Rooks, with whose habits they 
have nothing in common, making this use of their structures 
as a defence for themselves, and also manifesting their 
sagacious anxiety and contrivance for the safety of their 
own broods. Frequently too they serve an action of eject¬ 
ment against the Martins, and take forcible possession of the 
nests they have so laboriously constructed for their young, 
and thus is ‘Love’s labour lost.’ Some have been known 
to build their nests in the holes made by Sand Martins in 
the side of a clay-pit, using, contrary to their usual custom, 
but a small quantity of materials, adopting probably the 
arrangement they found ready for them; possibly too in such 
a situation the materials they ordinarily use in such abundance 
might not have been readily procurable. 
The following appeared in the ‘Glasgow Argus,’ in May, 
1846:—‘Last week on the Aurora leaving the Bromielaw for 
Belfast, a Sparrow’s nest was discovered in the rigging; 
but the birds did not choose on that occasion to accompany 
their nest to the Green Isle. On the return of the vessel, 
however, the Sparrows again visited their former abode, 
which had not been disturbed by the voyage, and deposited 
an egg in it, which attached them so much to it, that they 
valorously left their native land and sailed with the Aurora 
for Ireland.’ ‘The nest,’ Mr. Thompson adds, ‘rested partly 
on the sail, and was destroyed by its being unfurled, when 
containing one or two eggs. The vessel was accustomed to 
sail every second day from Glasgow to Belfast.’ 
I must, however, differ from Mr. Thompson’s opinion as 
to the honesty of the Sparrow, with regard to his neighbour’s 
dwelling. I fear that the ‘Appropriation Clause’ will be 
found on record among his ‘Acts,’ and leave a deserved 
stigma on his reputation. 
The Sparrow pairs early in the season, and two or three 
broods are reared each year. A pair built a nest, and laid 
several eggs, at Markle, near East Linton, about the 15th. 
of December, 1842; a nest was found at Darley Abbey, near 
Derby, on the 20th. of December in the same year, contain- 
