I20 The Ottawa Naturalist, [Auj^^ust 



Perhaps the most interesting thing to me here, has been to 

 note that our old friend, the EngHsh sparrow, has at length met 

 his match a foeman worthy of his steel. His aggression is not 

 totally checked I opine it never will be, but his undisputed 

 sovereignty of the city is no longer a matter of course. The spar- 

 row vanguard reached this point about ten years ago, beating 

 their way on some box cars. After the western fashion they soon 

 tried to run the town, but found, no doubt to their surprise and 

 mortification, that others were in that line of business. War was 

 declared between the rival factions, which is still going on 

 guerilla fashion the sparrows at any rate doing no more than 

 to win the right to live in town to a limited extent. Numbers, in 

 consternation at the unheard of prowess of their foes, have given 

 it up as a bad job and have gone to live in the rural districts, 

 until the whirligig of time shall enable them once more to be 

 " monarchs of all they survey " amid the busy haunts of men. 



The brave Defenders of their native chimney tops and eave- 

 troughs are known here as " House Finches." (Probably Car- 

 podacus jnexicajius Jrontalis. Ed.) They are a trifle smaller than 

 sparrows and of more slender build, the body generally dark brown, 

 the males with dark brick red-breasts and crowns. Their flight is 

 peculiarly soft and noiseless. Until recently, when mating began, 

 they were to be seen in flocks of from twenty to fifty feeding 

 often upon Russian thistle and other seeds, sometimes finding 

 food the nature of which I could not discover, under the trees. I 

 have a suspicion, however, that they were perhaps taking out the 

 seeds from the samaras of the ash and box qXAqv ,Negundo acerotdes, 

 as these lay about in profusion. It is very gratifying to find these 

 little people able to defy the tyrannical sparrows, the more so 

 that their song is very sweet, seeming to resemble more than 

 anything else short selections from the song of the house- 

 wren, sung fortissimo, but with wonderful expression and 

 pathos. As I write, the air is quite musical with their love-songs, 

 in very pleasing contrast with the querulous harsh chirp of our 

 friends the sparrows. It will be interesting to watch the final 

 issue of the struggle now going on. It will probably be an armed 

 peace after the manner of other bipeds similarly placed. 



