_Life size_]
THE SPARROWS PROPER (_Passeres_).
THE SPARROWS are known by their strong, thick, stunted beaks; short,
stout legs, furnished with toes of moderate length and crooked claws;
their wings are short, and the tail more or less graduated; the body is
stoutly built, and the plumage simple in its colour and markings. The
feathers of the male are of chestnut-brown, grey, or golden yellow, while
those of the female are entirely grey, streaked with brown; the young
are like the mother. The members of this family strongly resemble each
other in their mode of life and habits; all are more or less stationary,
frequenting agricultural districts, and any place inhabited by man; never
going to a great distance from their dwelling-place, and passing their
time principally upon the ground in search of food. The Sparrows show
as great a dislike to barren districts, as to thick woods; preferring
such spots as are planted with shrubs or hedges, upon which they seek
shelter in times of danger; holes in rocks, or crevices in walls, are,
in like manner, sometimes employed for this purpose. In their movements
they are clumsy, and hop when upon the ground with apparent effort;
their flight is violent, and far more rapid than accords with their
strength, so that they are soon exhausted. Their song scarcely deserves
the name, and the call-note is monotonous and unpleasing. These birds
are intelligent and social in one sense of the word, but, although they
love to congregate with other species, they are extremely quarrelsome and
spiteful, especially during the season for choosing a mate, when most
pertinacious and furious battles are of constant occurrence--the enraged
combatants falling upon each other, biting, struggling, and screaming in
a manner that is perfectly astounding to a spectator of this miniature
warfare; indeed, it seems as if these encounters took place simply to
gratify the pugnacious propensities of the irritable little creatures.
All the members of this family bathe frequently, paddling about when
in the water until their coats are quite saturated, and subsequently
preen their feathers with the greatest care. Corn and insects form their
principal food, their preference for the former, perhaps, accounting for
the pertinacity with which they frequent the dwellings of men. During the
summer they industriously pursue various kinds of insects, with which
they feed their young. They are fond of fruit, and often attack our
orchards, doing an incalculable amount of injury. It is believed that
these birds produce many broods in the year. The nest, which is placed in
a hole or upon the branch of a tree, consists only of a heap of scraps,
thrown inartistically together without arrangement or care, except that
the softest materials should line the interior.
Sparrows are totally unfitted for life in a cage.