Cassell's book of birds; vol. 1

by Alfred Edmund Brehm

Many persons are inclined to regard Sparrows as mischievous creatures, without considering the immense services they render by devouring innumerable noxious insects. Frederick the Great of Prussia, we are told, was so prejudiced against these birds that he issued a decree that they should be shot whenever they appeared, and set a price upon their heads. The poor Sparrows were immediately pursued in all directions, and some thousands of dollars expended in the course of a few days by the State as payment for their destruction. The natural result of this barbarism followed; the trees that had been supposed to be injured by the birds were so covered with caterpillars and other insects, as to be not only barren of fruit, but also quite denuded of their leaves, so that the King was at once obliged to recall his decree, and had to command that Sparrows should be brought from all parts in order to repair the mischief that he had done. These birds have been introduced into Australia in the hope of their being similarly useful. Their flesh is often eaten, and in Italy small towers are built, in the compartments of which they make their nests; from these the young are taken as soon as fledged, and are considered great dainties when spitted on a stick and roasted. In old Gesner's time they were applied to a very different purpose: two spoonfuls of burnt Sparrow was supposed to be a cure for avarice, and the flesh of the nestlings, when applied with a little vinegar, was considered an excellent remedy for toothache. According to Pliny, their brains were extensively employed in medicine.

It is now satisfactorily decided that the Sparrows inhabiting Southern Europe are to be regarded as varieties of our Passer domesticus, and that the differences in their plumage are simply attributable to the diversity of external circumstances. The colours of the male alter considerably as it advances in age, or under any great change of climate; the reddish brown upon the head spreading towards the nape, while, on the contrary, the same beautiful tint upon the back becomes much more indistinct as the black shade at the lower part of the feathers extends and mingles with it. Thus the Sparrows of Provence and Italy, when no longer young, resemble ours in the colour of the back; but the head is generally entirely reddish brown or grey, the feathers being tipped with light brown only after the moulting season. These birds are very numerous in the warmer parts of Siberia, Buchara, Syria, Java, Egypt, and Nubia, and are also found in the islands of the Mediterranean, especially in Sardinia. The so-called Italian Sparrow (Passer Italicus) has been considered by some as constituting a distinct species. In the old males the top of the head and back of the neck are dark reddish brown, the sides of the neck and cheeks white, the gorge, throat, and upper part of the breast deep brownish black, and the sides reddish grey. The female is of a rusty white, mingled with grey on the under part of the body, and the markings above the eyes are much paler than in the Sparrow of Northern Europe. This bird is principally found in the South of France and Italy, but is quite unknown in the interior of Spain and Egypt. The Passer Italiae will often mate with our common House Sparrow—the plumage of the progeny being a curious mixture of that of both parents.

THE SPANISH SPARROW.

The Spanish Sparrow (Passer Hispanicus), or Marsh Sparrow (Passer salicicolus), is about six inches long, and its breadth across the span of its wings about nine inches and a half. The female is somewhat smaller than her mate, and in both birds the tail is generally longer and the tarsus shorter than in the Common Sparrow. In the colour of its plumage, however, the Passer Hispanicus bears but little resemblance to the House Sparrow; in the old males the head and back of the neck are of a dark reddish brown, the back is black, marked with chestnut, and the throat, breast, and sides are almost black, with a pure white streak passing above the eyes. The rest of the plumage is similar to that of the House Sparrow, and the females of both species are almost identical in appearance.

The Marsh Sparrow inhabits such districts as are abundantly watered, and is found in Spain, Greece, Northern Africa, and the Canary Islands, as also in some parts of Asia. It is eminently a field bird, and is seldom found near human habitations, preferring the vicinity of bogs or water, near which it is usually to be met with in large flocks. In Egypt these birds are more frequently to be seen than any other species. Bolle tells us that the date-palm is very attractive to them, and that for the sake of the shelter afforded by its crown of leaves, they will occasionally desert their favourite swamps—especially in Egypt, where they may be frequently seen near villages rich in these trees, whilst such as do not possess them are never visited. The same writer also mentions that on one occasion he saw a settlement of some hundreds living under the roof of a church. The flight of the Marsh Sparrows is very rapid, and, unlike the rest of their race, they keep quite close together when on the wing. In Egypt they may often be seen flying over fields of rice in such dense masses that numbers might be brought down at a shot. Their voice is considerably stronger, purer, and more varied than that of the Common Sparrow, and their disposition much more shy and timorous. The time of incubation in Egypt and the Canary Isles commences about February or March, and at this season the palm-trees of the Delta are covered with their nests, the holes in the stems being also employed as breeding-places. The nest itself is a very rude affair, and the eggs so closely resemble those of the Field Sparrow that the most practised eye cannot distinguish between them. By the month of May the young have left their home, and the parents at once set about making preparations for another brood. In no part of the world are these birds regarded with favour. In Egypt the damage done by them to the fields of rice is very serious, and Bolle gives us the following account explanatory of the aversion in which they are held by the inhabitants of the Canary Isles. The principal promenade of the capital, he tells us, is a most attractive, cheerful spot, encircled by banana trees, and prettily decorated with fountains and flowers; consequently, it is a favourite resort of the beauty and fashion of the place during the long summer evenings. Night after night elegant groups may be seen lounging and sitting, listening to the music, and watching the drops of water as they sparkle in the marble vases, or besprinkle the surrounding myrtles. You might imagine yourself in some scene embodied from an old romance, when all at once a strange rustling noise is heard in the summits of the neighbouring trees, and hosts of sparrows rise into the air, the birds having been disturbed in their repose by the lighting of the lamps. The scene is at once changed; exclamations of disgust and annoyance take the place of laughter and gay conversation, and the señoritas, as they hurry from a spot suddenly become so dangerous to their elegant toilettes and rich mantles, are by no means sparing in their invectives against a torment that compels them to forego all the delights of a summer evening's walk with their cavaliers, whose complaints against the authors of the mischief are at any rate equal to their own. For this reason, the pajaro palmero, as it is called, is pursued with great eagerness, and every attempt made to drive it from the locality. Frequently in the twilight boys are sent up into the trees with lanterns to catch the birds whilst blinded by the sudden light, and numbers are thus brought to expiate their crimes in the frying-pan, for their flesh is much esteemed. But little, however, can really be done to dislodge them during the summer; it is only in autumn, when the leaves have fallen, and the Alameda possesses no more attraction for their enemies than it does for them, that they condescend to seek a home elsewhere. The same author tells us that he has frequently seen these birds caged in the Canary Isles, but though quite tame, they did not appear to thrive, owing, he imagines, to a lack of insect nourishment.

THE TREE SPARROW (Passer montanus), AND THE HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus).

THE FIELD OR TREE SPARROW.

The Field or Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) is met with in the middle and northern parts of Europe. It is a small bird, of five and a half inches long and seven and three-quarter inches across the wings, much resembling the Common Sparrow in colour, but easily distinguishable from it. The upper part of the head and neck are reddish brown, the mantle rusty grey, and the bridles, throat, and a spot upon the cheeks black, the remainder of the head being white. The lower part of the body is light grey, the beak black, the feet a reddish horn colour. The sexes closely resemble each other, and the young are scarcely distinguishable from the parent birds.

This species inhabits more particularly the eastern side of our hemisphere, extending even as far north as the Polar Regions; it is met with in Asia, and is very numerous in Japan. Meadows, woods, and pastures, are its favourite resorts, and it is only in winter that it seeks the abodes of man, in the hope of obtaining food; when in the woods, it lives in very large parties except during the breeding season. In disposition the Field Sparrow closely resembles its congeners, but is somewhat duller, owing to the little intercourse it has with our race. Its bearing is superior to that of the House Sparrow, as the little creature is courageous, animated, and very trim in its appearance; its flight is light, and its pace easy and rapid; the call-note is short, but is similar to that of the rest of its family. From autumn to spring, seeds and berries constitute its principal food; in summer it feeds upon caterpillars, aphides, and other insects, rendering good service to mankind by clearing the trees and shrubs of these visitants, and thus atoning for the damage it frequently does to fields of wheat and millet. The nestlings are fed upon insects and milky grains of corn. The breeding season lasts from April to August, and each pair rears two families during the year, building their nests in holes of trees, or occasionally in convenient nooks in houses or out-buildings; in structure they are like those of other Sparrows. The brood consists of from five to seven eggs, resembling those of their congeners, but somewhat smaller; the parents sit alternately, the period of incubation lasting about thirteen or fourteen days. The Field Sparrow frequently pairs with other species; when this occurs the male is a Field and the female a House Sparrow; and the young, in such cases, are also capable of laying fertile eggs. These birds are easily caught by means of bird-lime and other simple traps, and may be reared upon all kinds of seeds, varied with a little green food.