Notes from Field and Study 



213 



have caught fifteen or twrnty Sparrows in as 

 many minutes; thc-n ihey may be drowned. 



It seems incredible 

 trap, but I had the 

 evidence of my own 

 eyes and I mean to 

 try this method late in 

 the fall and through 

 the coming winter; 

 for, of course, it 

 should be done only 

 after the fall and 

 before the sprin.i; 

 migrations. A very 

 few yea'S of persist- 

 ent work should re- 

 sult in bringing back 

 many birds whose 

 gay colors or sweet 

 song are sadly missed 

 or rarely seen or 

 heard— Mi«. Paxjl 

 Conn. 



:hat Ihev will 



flew from the vines and settled on the cross of 

 the ( hurt h spire, preening his feathers, ap- 

 [)arenlly oblivious to all the trouble he caused. 



R BoxNER, Statu jord, 



A Plea for the Sparrow 



In the April numljer of Bird-Lcjre I read 

 an article condemning the much-maligned 

 English Sparrow, stating that it drove off the 

 Robins and other song-birds. This statement, 

 often made, is so contrary to my own obser- 

 vations that I feel obliged, in justice to the 

 Sparrows, to give my experience. Around 

 our old home there were many trees, with a 

 lawn in front, where the birds daily collected. 

 In the vines covering the stone walls of the 

 church and parish house adjoining, the Spar- 

 rows built their nests, while the others 

 built theirs around the piazza or in trees 

 nearby. 



One morning, while in the library, I 

 heard a frightful signal of distress from 

 a Robin, followed instantly by a pro- 

 longed noisy chattering from the Spar- 

 rows. Hurrying out to learn the cause 

 and to protect the birds if necessary, I saw 

 a Robin perched on top of the parish 

 house chimney, trailing his wings and giv- 

 ing a shrill cry of distress. The frightened 

 Sparrows had flown from their nests, and 

 settled on a beech tree in front of the 

 house. In a few minutes a Sparrow Hawk 



The Roljin, however, still gave his call of 

 alarm and the Sparrows chattered in angry 

 protests in the tree. After a few minutes the 

 Hawk flew away and the Robin gave him 

 chase, joined by another bird, and soon all 

 three were lost to sight. The Sparrows then 

 returned to their nests and peace was restored. 



Three times I think it was that the Robin 

 warned the Sparrows of their enemy, and they 

 always heeded his cry, leaving the vines and 

 fleeing from them in distress to the tree on the 

 lawn. 



The Sparrows and Robins I have constant- 

 ly feeding together, neither disturbing the 

 other. Sometimes perhaps an impudent or 

 quarrelsome fellow would jump toward a 



^^-^^ 



';;*;'?^ 



