286 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



foot from the ground, and they occur at intervals for twenty feet, or 

 fully two-thirds the distance to the top. The perforations were con- 

 fined chiefly to the trunk of the tree, and in only one case was a limb 

 assailed. 



"During the month of March new holes were made daily, and on 

 the 29th the bark shoAved 1,671 unhealed openings, which had been made 

 this spring. Himdreds of old scars bear mute- testimony to the workings 

 of the Sapsucker in previous years." 



Trees which have been attacked by the bird sometimes die, but the 

 one referred to above is now (September, 1909) still alive and flourish- 

 ing. 



« 



ENGLISH SPARROW (Posscr domesticus, Linn). 



General color suggests grayish chestnut ; back streaked with black ; top of head 

 gray and rump gray, whitish below, except throat and breast (in male only) black. 

 Length, about 61/2 inches. 



Range. — A large part of Europe and Asia. Naturalized in America, New Zealand, 

 Japan, Australia, and elsewhere. 



Nest. — Sticks, twigs, grass and feathers, and situated in any available place. 



Eggs. — Four to six, finely and evenly spotted. 



It was in the year 1851 that the English Sparrow was introduced 

 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 gen- 

 eral all-round nuisance, he has been a pronounced success. His unpre- 

 possessing manner, his habit of feeding among filth, his rolling in the 

 dust of the city streets, and his harsh, never-ending chirps, have all com- 

 bined 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 ecjually at home in the biting winds of a 

 Quebec street or panting in the throbbing heat of a Tampa housetop. 

 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 tormenters. 



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 



