1907] Nature Study No. 42. 249 



appear in the spring, and it is fitting that this, one of our most 

 musical birds, should be so called. Its bright, canary-like lay is 

 one of the most attractive voices of the spring, and is familiar 

 to many who do not know the identity of its author. In habit, it 

 differs from the Chipping Sparrow, it is not so often met with 

 in the open country or in the garden, but is generally found in- 

 habiting the borders of rivers, meadows, swamps, and other 

 watery places. I have found it, however, in company with the 

 English Sparrows hopping about the barnyard. It seeks its food 

 on the ghound, hopping along through grass and weeds in a 

 peculiar, mouse-like manner. 



It is a plump little bird, with dark-brown streaks over its 

 head, and along its sides. The breast is light in colour, boldly 

 streaked with dark-brown and with a conspicuous dark patch in 

 the centre. The beak is stout and dark-coloured. The Song 

 Sparrow resembles the Vesper Sparrow considerably ; but is 

 much darker and of a ruddier brown. Its tail is longer and lacks 

 the two white feathers which are such a striking feature of the 

 Vesper Sparrow. - 



The female generally builds her nest on the ground in a little 

 elevated tuft of grass, or other vegetation. It is composed of 

 fine, dry grass, and is lined with horse-hair and other material. 

 It lays four to five eggs of a bluish-white colour, thickly covered 

 with large reddish-brown spots. 



Economic Value of Sparrows. 



Some years ago in an effort to arrive at the true relation of 

 these common birds to agriculture, I undertook a rather extensive 

 investigation of the food consumed by the four above named 

 sparrows during one summer. For this purpose of course it was 

 necessary to kill a few specimens each week, throughout the 

 summer, and a most careful examination was made of the 

 stomach, the crop and the gullet of each. From this investiga- 

 tion the following conclusions were drawn regarding the eco- 

 nomic importance of each species. 



The English Sparrow is almost exclusively a grain and weed- 

 seed eater. Nearly all the insects found in the stomachs of those 

 examined were of a kind practically neutral in their effects on 

 Agriculture. 



Now, although it is true that they consume a considerable 

 amount of weed-seeds, yet the fact that they limit their weed- 

 seed eating largely to the barnyard and the immediate vicinity 

 of buildings, lessons to a great degree the benefit which they 

 would otherwise confer upon the farmer. 



