"THE UBIQUITOUS SPARROW.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 658, 8 November 1909, Page 8

"THE ÜBIQUITOUS SPARROW.

>:■ • [To tub EditobJ ; ■ 1 Sn,—l noticed in ';ho Christchsrch "Prcse"' i a paragraph from yu'ur paper containing 6ome • :■ .remarks xuado by Mr.": G.' W.' Kirk, F.L.S., ro- ; gardirig the rate of increase of the house - ; sparrow. -Mt; Kirk states that the sparrows h '• broods a year, .each, brood averaging; binl?' , I should, very- much liko, to ask !• JUj. -Kirk • whon, where, and. how his expori- • ' carried'out,' Iha at odd tiniest • • found quite a few sparrows' nests mysalf, • mostly, in. Canterbury, and,'as. far as my experience S^? ti anything, over, live eggs in a' , clutch is very niuoli the exception. Even whoa there,^ere;eggs I- noticedthal;- in tbo majority of. cases,one ;of them would to addled,, * Joaying only,four.young in the - , brood*;. In a large macrocarpa tree m' Ckristchurch -1 - last • ••• yeari ..rpblxfd ' between .. thirty-fivo ''and forty : ; sparrows' neets, .and I rememberwell that only one had six eggs,'whikl the,'average-was be- . . tween fonr ana.five.l, pcrsonally,should bo s mclmed to put the average Te&Ted brood of sparrows at. something' rather under -than over ■ four.' - -.'v. • V";. , /•'. • ' ■ ' J ' sparrows 'rearing •an average-.of five . v - dtooqs/a;y-tor, I.yn'unable to see hiow'this r ' , canvvew- bo;;;; The birds; m a: start . . w, nest in October; my observations ' chiefly'in Canterbury)! the, nesting 8G&90I1 'being oy'or-Halr*ray through • I fe bruary. v Of'cotee, therefore eailieraests s ' , later pontes,'.'too,'quite .commonly;,'J»t -I - • think my dates' fully covert tne breeding' season ; for. the main body of the birds. ; lii N tliis period < l av voow scaroely'' rear more thanthroe broody and that; number"' would, I : fconsider, be nbovo rather than bolowtlie* average, How- ' over, as -1 said before, I should very mnoli like some»'particulars: of Mr.' Kirk's expoo- : , ► m6nts.~l am; eta, ■> . •v, • • EDGAR 1?. STEA3X