Plate 5, Cassell's Book of Birds

1. BULLFINCH ____ Pyrrhula vulgaris

2. GOLDFINCH ____ Carduelis elegans

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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.