The Bulletin. 25 



It was in the year 1851 that the English Sparrow was intro- 

 duced into America. They were liberated first in Brooklyn, N. Y., 

 and later in other eastern cities. Many thought the bird would prove 

 a great friend to man by destroying caterpillars which infested the 

 trees of the parks and gardens. In this the stranger was largely 

 a failure; but as a fighter of other birds, a disturber and broiler of 

 the town, and a general all-round nuisance, he has been a pronounced 

 success. His unprepossessing manner, his habit of feeding among 

 filth, his rolling in the dust of the city streets, and his harsh, never- 

 ending chirps, have all combined to bring upon his head the abuse 

 of a long-suffering Nation. 



This sparrow is exceedingly hardy and is apparently little affected 

 by climatic conditions, being equally at home in the biting winds of 

 a Quebec street or panting in the throbbing heat of a Tampa house- 

 top. Because of their wonderful adaptability to environment the 

 species has spread with marvelous rapidity throughout North 

 America, although in many sections they are as yet confined to the 

 towns and cities. Traps, poisons, and guns are brought to bear upon 

 them in untold numbers, but the English Sparrow holds its own and 

 defiantly builds its nest in the veranda trellis, roosts behind the 

 window-blind, and at the peep of day shouts its "get up" call to its 

 sleepy tormentors. 



Occasionally one meets with a friend of the sparrow who, if he 

 be a gardener, will tell of the cabbage worms which this bird 

 destroys ; or, if he be a farmer, he may show you in dollars and cents 

 how the sparrow has been worth his weight in silver by eating the 

 worms from his tobacco plants. Such friends, however, are rare. On 

 the whole, he has been voted a nuisance by nearly all the State legisla- 

 tures in the Union, and chiefly on account of his presence Congress 

 has enacted a law prohibiting the importation to America of any wild 

 birds or animals without the consent. of the proper government au- 

 thorities. The effect of the English Sparrow on American bird life 

 has thus become a most pronounced one. One should be careful not to 

 confuse this imported species with any of our native sparrows, all 

 of which are of the first importance as destroyers of insects and con- 

 sumers of noxious weed seeds. 



Bluebird (Sialia sialis, Linn). 



Upper parts bright blue ; throat, breast, and sides dull brick-brown ; belly 

 white. The blue of a female has a grayish tinge, and colored underparts are 

 paler. 



Range. — United States and Southern Canada. 



Nest. — Of grass, in bird boxes or holes of trees and stum] is. 



Eggs. — Four to six, pale blue, sometimes white. 



Early in the year 1895 a prolonged cold spell, accompanied with 

 an abundance of snow and ice, restricted the food supply of the 

 Bluebird to such an extent that large numbers succumbed to famine 



