24 The Ottawa Naturalist. [May- 



were certainly rare fifteen years ago, even in the cities, and it is 

 only within very recent times that the country farm buildings 

 have become inhabited by them. The western birds almost 

 surely introduced themselves from the south, as the wide chain 

 of hills to the east would greatly retard a movement from that 

 direction. It is, however, of small importance how the birds 

 arrived; they are here to stay and their injurious habits present 

 us with an excellent example of the danger of introducing 

 animials of questionable value. 



The mo.st remarkable attribute of English Sparrows is the 

 way in which they have already become adapted to wide cli- 

 matical conditions. Heat, cold, wet or dry, has apparently 

 little effect in retarding their increase. This is unquestionably, 

 due, in part, to their habit of seeking shelter in buildings from 

 weather extremes, especially cold. There is, however, a limit, 

 as was shown in Manitoba last January during an exceptionally 

 cold spell, when shelter of somiC sort became absolutely necessary 

 for the preservation of life. Where this was not secured there 

 is no doubt that great mortality occurred, even shelter in sheds, 

 etc., not being sufficient to save them. 



During the period mentioned above, lasting ten days, with 

 an average temperature of about 21 degrees Fahr. below zero 

 and a minimum of 40 below,* sparrows were found dead in city 

 streets and around farm buildings by observant farmers in many 

 parts of the province, while a number of the birds hardl}^ able 

 to fly were also noticed. The chirp so commonly associated 

 with them remained unheard for days, as if the fear of death .>- 



was upon them and all were struggling for very existence, as ' 



indeed was the case with those individuals obliged to pick up a 

 living in the open air. Many undoubtedly perished from cold 

 and starvation, the latter being the direct result of the former. 



Thus it is seen that there is a limit to the birds' range, so 

 far as open air is concerned. This was also demonstrated in 

 southern Greenland by introduced sparrows failing to survive 

 more than a few seasons. 



There are, therefore, but two ways in which the House 

 Sparrows can withstand our northern climate: (1) by sheltering 

 themselves in buildings containing animals of some kind, or 

 (2) b}^ migrating to warmer regions during the colder months. 

 Both these methods have already been adopted. Migration has 

 taken place, to some extent, for several years past and is ap- 

 parently becoming rapidly more general, so that now it is not 

 an uncommon occurrence to see fifty or more birds moving 

 south or north according to the time of the year. Of course, 



* These researches are from the meteorological station at Aweme. 



