At this time they desert the roofs,
except those who still have nesting duties. In winter and in the
beginning of the new year, they gradually return; migration thus goes on
under the eyes of those who care to notice it. In London, some who fed
sparrows on the roof found that rooks also came for the crumbs placed
out. I sometimes see a sparrow chasing a rook, as if angry, and trying to
drive it away over the roofs where I live, the thief does not retaliate,
but, like a thief, flees from the scene of his guilt. This is not only in
the breeding season, when the rook steals eggs, but in winter. Town
residents are apt to despise the sparrow, seeing him always black; but in
the country the sparrows are as clean as a pink; and in themselves they
are the most animated, clever little creatures.
They are easily tamed. The Parisians are fond of taming them. At a
certain hour in the Tuilleries Gardens, you may see a man perfectly
surrounded with a crowd of sparrows--some perching on his shoulder; some
fluttering in the air immediately before his face; some on the ground
like a tribe of followers; and others on the marble seats. He jerks a
crumb of bread into the air--a sparrow dexterously seizes it as he would
a flying insect; he puts a crumb between his lips--a sparrow takes it out
and feeds from his mouth.
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