ENGLISH SPARROW 7 



Claude T. Barnes has sent me the following interesting account of 

 the mating of this strenuous species: "The incredible English sparrow 

 is the best illustration of furor amatorius. The male suffers from 

 satyriasis, the female from nymphomania. In the several years that 

 we have observed them breeding, in two instances copulation took 

 place fourteen times in succession, with a stopwatch record of five 

 seconds for the act and five seconds for the interval. In each instance it 

 was the soft tee tee tee tee tee tee of the female, sitting with outstretched 

 wings, that attracted our attention, and our count one was perhaps in 

 reality two or three. Since other males within 20 feet took no interest, 

 we believe that despite its reputation for promiscuity the domestic 

 sparrow, after earlier imbroglios are settled, actually does mate with 

 at least a short period of fidelity. Once mated, however, the female 

 seems willing to continue the venery beyond the capacity of the male, 

 for in every instance we have observed she continued her fluttering 

 chant until he ceased to respond." 



Nesting. — The resourceful and adaptable English sparrow will 

 build its bulky, unkempt, and loosely constructed nest in almost any 

 conceivable spot that will give it support, some security, and a reason- 

 able degree of concealment, though some of the locations seem to lack 

 even these requirements. 



Their favored site appears to be a nesting box, from which other 

 box-nesting birds are often excluded or sometimes even evicted. 

 But sometimes, even where boxes are available, natural sites have 

 been occupied. Richard L. Weaver (1939) found in his studies at 

 Ithaca, N. Y., that "boxes were not preferred to natural sites if the 

 natural ones were well hidden. This was shown at the sanctuary 

 pavilion where boxes were placed besides the natural sites. Only 

 five of the twenty-five broods raised there were in boxes, the others 

 being in rafters under the overhanging porch." 



In eastern Massachusetts, favorite nesting sites are found in the 

 dense growths of Boston ivy which climb luxuriantly over many of 

 our large buildings and offer good support, security, and some conceal- 

 ment. Similar ivy and other vines are favored in different parts of 

 the country. These vines sometimes harbor so many nests that they 

 become a nuisance; the slovenly nests disfigure the walls, while the 

 vines and the ground beneath are defiled by the droppings of the birds, 

 and the noisy chattering of so many birds disturbs the occupants of 

 the buildings. Attempts to drive away the birds by pulling down the 

 nests have not always been successful; some of the nests are 40 or 50 

 feet from the ground and difficult to reach; and the birds are so per- 

 sistent that they return to build again. But repeated efforts will 

 eventually succeed and the sparrows will learn to build their nests in 

 less conspicuous places, where they are less likely to be disturbed. 



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