144. The _COMMON SPARROW (Fringilla domestica)_ is mentioned in this place only under a hope, in some measure, of rescuing its character from the extreme degree of odium with which it is loaded, in consequence of the supposed injury that it commits by feeding upon corn. This bird is by no means without its utility, even to the very persons who incessantly seek its destruction. On a calculation made by the late Professor Bradley, it was ascertained that a pair of sparrows, during the time they have young ones, destroy on an average 3360 caterpillars every week. He observed the two parents to bring to the nest at least forty caterpillars in an hour; and, on a supposition that they might have been thus occupied twelve hours every day, it will yield the above number per week. But their utility is not confined to the destruction of caterpillars. They likewise feed their young ones with butterflies and other winged insects, each of which, if not thus destroyed, would be the parent of hundreds of caterpillars. In many parts of the world sparrows are in considerable demand as articles of luxury for the table. 145. _The SKY-LARK_ (Alauda arvensis) _is a small bird with slender bill, and the hind claw very long; the upper parts of its plumage are of a varied greenish brown colour, the external webs of the two outer tail feathers are white, and the two middle feathers are rust-coloured._ _These birds are found in every quarter of the world except America._ To all persons capable of experiencing pleasure from rural scenes, the notes of the lark are beyond description animating and delightful. During fine weather, from the earliest part of spring, for several succeeding months, they are every day heard. These birds sing whilst hovering in the air, and sometimes at so vast a height that they seem but a speck in the sky. In sprightliness their notes exceed those of any other bird except the goldfinch; and in compass and execution are inferior only to those of the nightingale. Sky-larks, whilst in the nest, are fed on worms and insects; but when they are fledged they subsist chiefly on seeds, herbage, and other vegetable substances. It is remarkable, respecting them, that owing to the great length of their hinder claw they are not able to perch on trees, but always alight on the ground. Here they form their nest, generally in some hollow place, and lay four or five dusky eggs spotted with brown.