It is worthy of notice, that they always proportion the quantity of materials to the size of the nest hole, which is generally packed close, leaving only a sufficient cavity for hatching the eggs and rearing the young. I have one of these nests, for example, which could almost be hid in the hollow of the hand, and another, built about a yard from it, which would fill a hat. When the nest is built on a tree, however, it is always nearly of the same dimensions, about a foot in diameter each way. From the bird nestling occasionally in holes, it might be imagined that when it made choice of a tree, it would be on account of thus obtaining a canopy of thick boughs to form a roof; but, on the contrary, sparrows, for the most part, select a high, exposed branch, as if they were more anxious to be out of the reach of cats, than of cold winds. When sparrows build in the ivied wall of a house, as they often do, they do not consider the thick clustering of the leaves above the nest as a sufficiently warm coping; and in such cases usually, if not always, construct a dome of straw, though much more slight than in nests built on the exposed branches of trees.
From its anxiety to procure shelter, the sparrow indeed seizes upon any convenience it can find best adapted to its purpose, whether that be accidental or have been prepared by some other bird. One very cogent reason for this appears to be its looking forward prospectively to the winter, for sparrows occupy their nests at night throughout the year, and though they are hardy birds, they require a warm shelter during severe frosts.
I am not aware that any contrivance is resorted to in Britain, to entice birds to build in particular places, except in the case of the house-sparrow. In the vicinity of London more particularly, pots of unglazed delft ware of a sub-oval shape, with a narrow hole for an entrance, are fixed upon the walls of houses, several feet below the eave, and the sparrows finding a domicile so suited to their habits, very soon took possession of every pot thus provided for them. But those who are so careful to accommodate the sparrows, do it not because they are fond of their neighbourhood or their yelping concerts, but to prevent their nestling under the eaves, where they dig out the mortar with their strong bills, when they do not find holes large enough for their accommodation. It probably never struck those wise persons, that by thus encouraging the sparrows to breed, they are promoting the increase of the race, and unless they multiply their sparrow pots yearly, they may be almost certain that the supernumeraries will resort to eaves nearest their birth-place. In Holland, square boxes are placed on the house-tops, to entice the stork (Ardea ciconia) to build; and for the same purpose it was customary in France, in Belon’s time, to place wheels there, a practice said to be still followed in some parts of Germany.
The sparrow lays six eggs of a whitish colour, spotted with dusky brown or ash-grey, and varying much in the shades as well as the thickness of the spots; each weighs from forty-three to forty-eight grains. Accidental varieties occur, such as white, black, and yellowish.
Sparrow Shooting.—If, however, there are persons who still think the practice of shooting swallows to be of assistance in acquiring the art, we will venture to recommend another mode which is nearly similar, but, in our opinion, much better. This is, by putting small pieces of white paper round the necks of sparrows, or other small birds, by the means of a hole cut in the middle of the paper, then throwing a single bird into the air, the young shooter may deliberately take his aim, for by this device the flight of the bird is rendered less rapid and more regular, and at the same time presents a much better mark for practice, besides it affords an excellent diversion in seasons when game cannot be pursued, or in wet weather from underneath the shelter of a shed or a barn-door. Some of the first shots in the kingdom have been perfected by this mode.—Montagu—Art of Shooting.
Sparrowhawk (Accipiter fringillarius, Ray), s. The female of the musket-hawk.
The Sparrowhawk. (Falconisus, Linn.; L’Epuvier, Buff.)—The length of the male is twelve inches; that of the female fifteen. Its bill is blue, furnished with bristles at the base, which overhang the nostrils; the colour of the eye is bright orange; the head is flat at the top, and above each eye is a strong bony projection, which seems as if intended to secure it from external injury: from this projection a few scattered spots of white form a faint line running backward towards the neck: the top of the head and all the upper parts of the body are of a dusky brown colour; on the back part of the head there is a faint line of white; the scapulars are marked with two spots of white on each feather; the greater quill feathers and the tail are dusky, with four bars of a darker hue on each; the inner edges of all the quills are marked with two or more large white spots; the tips of the tail feathers are white; the breast, belly, and under coverts of the wings and thighs are white, beautifully barred with brown; the throat is faintly streaked with brown; the legs and feet are yellow; claws black.
The above is the description of a female; the male differs both in size and colour; the upper part of his body is of a dark lead colour; and the bars on his breast are more numerous.
The female builds her nest in hollow trees, high rocks, or lofty ruins, sometimes in the old nest of a crow, and generally lays four or five eggs, spotted with reddish spots at the longer end.