60 REY. H. N. BONAR ON THE DECREASE 
The most impudent of all birds, probably the most 
prolific of all birds, he is destructive, pugnacious, and 
quite incapable of shame. He eats what he should leave, 
and largely leaves untouched what he should eat, viz., 
insects. 
In towns, his fearlessness and a sort of bluff heartiness 
render him popular; and the harm he does there is small, 
except that he wantonly destroys crocuses and primulas in 
the gardens. He is often welcomed by those who are 
ignorant of the criminal side of his life, and who delight to 
see birds in a city. It almost seems to me that the only 
way to account for his being such a blot on the economy of 
the bird-life of this country is to accept the theory that, 
like the pheasant and the brown rat, he is an importation, 
and was never intended to live in Britain at all. He has 
followed man (and corn) all over the world. The more 
refined Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) may possibly be 
the original sparrow of our islands. 
But let me show that I am not talking at large. I 
append here a few figures to show what manner of fowl 
this little sparrow is. 
J. H. Gurney, jun., the well-known ornithologist, caused 
755 dissections of sparrows to be made by different experts 
in different places during all the twelve months of 
the year. He tabulates the results as follows* :—10 
per cent. of their food consisted of seeds of weeds, 6 per 
cent. of beetles, insects, and caterpillars, the remaining 84 
per cent. is made up of 4 per cent. of green peas, 5 per cent. 
of bread and similar food, and 75 per cent. of corn. I give 
these statistics to explode the charitable idea that sparrows 
mainly live on grubs, caterpillars, and harmful insects, 
The late Col. Russell of Romford, Essex (who gave 
evidence before the Wild Birds Protection Committee on 
the sparrow in 1873), brings another very grave charge 
against the accused. He proves clearly that the regrettable 
decrease in the numbers of the House Martin (Chelidon 
urbica) is due to its incessant persecution by the sparrow.t 
Here are a few facts. Round Col. Russell’s house the 
* Ornithology in relation to Agriculture and Horticulture. W.H. Allen & Co. 
+ The House Sparrow. Wesley & Sons, London. 
