See the August 17 C&AB for David’s account of breeding the tree sparrow
COVER STORY: NATIVE HARDBILLS
WHEN I was a child, the house sparrow competed with the starling as the most frequently observed bird at my Lancashire home.
Both species managed to breed in cavities in the walls of the house or under the eaves. We had no garden other than a few square feet at the front of the house, beyond which was a main road. At the rear we had a yard, and it was here that the birds would squabble for the bread thrown out for them. Fortunately, there was actually another bird species that utilised
