NOTES ON THE DISSEMINATION OF VIRGINIA 

 CREEPER SEEDS BY ENGLISH SPARROWS 



BARTLE T. HARVEY 



Bureau of Entomology, Colorado Springs, Col. 



On February 19, 1914, while on a collecting trip in the out- 

 skirts of Colorado Springs, Colorado, my attention was at- 

 tracted to a large number of bird excrements adhering to the 

 rough bark of the trunk and limbs of a Cottonwood tree (Populus 

 deltoides) , which was growing in a sandy flood plain some fifty 

 feet from a small stream. Closer examination of this tree 

 revealed the fact that it had evidently been used, for some time, 

 as a roosting place by the English sparrow (Passer domesticus). 



Each excrement, then hard and dry, contained many seeds 

 of the Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia). The 

 excrements were plentiful and occurred from 10-25 feet above 

 the ground. The Virginia creeper seeds in nature are covered 

 with a berry-like pulp, which fact may explain why the seeds 

 were eaten by birds. Moreover, for many weeks after the big 

 storm of December, 2-5, 1913, in Colorado Springs, deep snow 

 covered the ground, which fact may have compelled the sparrows 

 to feed upon the berries in order to escape starvation. 



At once the idea suggested itself to test the fertility of these 

 seeds, and many were gathered. Also berries were collected 

 from a living Virginia creeper vine some two hundred yards 

 distant. The seeds of these berries were used as a check in the 

 experiment. 



A. SEED FROM BIRD EXCREMENT 



The twenty largest seeds were selected from ten excrements 

 and planted one-quarter inch deep in a mixture of sandy quartz 

 and loam soil. From four to eight seeds were found in each 

 excrement. And, frequently the bird excrement completely 

 enveloped the seed forming a hard covering over it. 



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