Page:HouseSparrowHomeAbroad.djvu/22

14 CHAPTER I.

THE SPARROW IN EUROPE.

bird is quite common over the whole of the United Kingdom, including the islands of Orkney and Shetland. It is also found in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark; thence extending southward through Prussia, France, Spain, and Portugal, to Northern Africa, and eastward to Italy and Dalmatia. It is mostly restricted to the European Continent and the adjoining islands, although specimens have been obtained from Trebizond, the Nubian Mountains, the Himalaya Mountains, and other parts of India. Since the colonization of Australia by the English, these birds have been introduced, and are increasing rapidly in numbers, to the great detriment of native species.

This noisy, familiar, impatient bird is one of those creatures that manifest a close attachment to man, and follows him wherever he goes. Nothing seems to daunt his spirit. In the midst of the crowded and tumultuous city, among the queer sights and noises of the railroad station, and in the more retired and peaceful shades of the country farm, he is equally at home. He treats with the same indifference the slow-paced wagon, the rattling omnibuses and cabs, and the snorting engines.

Few species are more wary. Various devices in the form of traps, etc., are often used to capture these birds, but without much success. But at nights, when they