830 Rural School Leaflet. 



to live in such places, he supplies a friend that we who live elsewhere 

 and have other birds, can scarce appreciate. 



Now let us see whether we can understand why this sparrow has 

 become so abundant. Did you ever watch the daisies fill up a field of 

 timothy when it had not been properly cared for ? There was a time when 

 not a single daisy could be found in North America. It is a native 

 of Europe and there learned to struggle against conditions much more 

 adverse than any we find here. Upon its introduction here many years 

 ago, it found conditions so much better than those to which it had 

 been accustomed that it multiplied rapidly, soon filling up all the 

 places where the soil and water supply were too poor for our native 

 plants. And to-day, whenever the soil becomes too exhausted for a 

 good crop of timothy, it is still good enough for a fine growth of daisies. 

 The English Sparrow is the weed of the bird world. He had fought so 

 hard to adapt himself in the Old World that when he arrived in America, 

 even the city street was to him a desirable place. 



One of the most serious things to us in the life of these birds is that 

 they nest so often that a single pair may have as many as six broods 

 a year and raise between twenty and thirty young. Indeed, the de- 

 scendants of a single pair would number in ten years, if they all lived, 

 nearly two hundred and seventy-six billions ; considering this it is no 

 wonder that they have spread so rapidly. 



OBSERVATIONS 

 T. Can you tell the difference between the male and the female Eng- 

 lish Sparrow ? Observe the head of each. 



2. Are the young birds like the male or the female ? 



3. Most birds are restricted in their diet and can find their food only 

 in certain places at certain times of year. Is the English Sparrow 

 restricted in his food supply? What bearing do you think this has on 

 his abundance ? 



4. Do the sparrows flock together in the fall about your home? 



5. Do they migrate? 



6. Where do they build their nests and how many nests does a pair 

 build each year? 



7. Do they use the same nest twice without remodeling it? 



8. How many eggs does the sparrow lay for each brood? 



9. Do you think the English Sparrow does more harm than good 

 about your home? 



