THE EXGTJSIT RPARROW WD THK STARLIXG. 145 



importations weiv clicapcr. Many iiniiii<,a-anls from tlic Old 

 World cherished the birds on account of their associations 

 witli the scenes of early Ufe ; and native Americans encour- 

 aged them because of tlieir supposed insectivorous habits, 

 or from the desire to have birds to enliven city streets and 

 premises. Without stopping to inquire the reasons for the 

 hospitalities they received, the sparrows made the mos+ of 

 iheir opportunities and throve apace. From the time of 

 their first general introduction to the present, says Professor 

 Barrows, "the marvellous rapidity of the sparrow multiplica- 

 tion, the surprising swiftness of its extension, and the pro- 

 digious size of the area it has overspread are without parallel 

 in the history of any bird. Like a noxious weed transplanted 

 to a fertile soil, it has taken root and become disseminated 

 over half a continent before the significance of its presence 

 has come to be understood.'' 



After the little foreigner liad been coddled through tlie 

 trying period of acclimation and had taken possession of the 

 country, the popular mind underwent a revulsion of feeling 

 towards liim. He was declared a nuisance because of his 

 noise, reviled as a humbug, and sh(jt for being a poacher. 

 But the sparrow kept on, like a true Anglo-Saxon, in the 

 even tenor of his way. In many places he suffered severely, 

 but he was so thoroughly disseminated and his fecundity was 

 so great that any loss man could inflict was of little conse- 

 quence to his race. Of late years there is less heard against 

 him than formerly, and it seems as if the people are at last 

 in the mood to make the best of a bad bargain. 



As regards food habits of tlie English sparrow, it is defi- 

 nitely known that the adult birds eat a few insects, — cater- 

 pillars, moths, beetles, etc., — and that the young are fed quite 

 largely on insects. In the country and the suburbs of towns, 

 they may often be seen searching the lields for grasshoppers 

 and other insects, while feeding young, as assiduously as even 

 the chipping-s})arr()w. 



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