76 THE HOUSE SPARROW. 



remarks of the writer's that are derogatory to the spar- 

 row's character, occurs the following pointed declara- 

 tion: — 



"They never molest, attack, or try to drive away any 

 birds except their own species, and that only from ama- 

 tory influences. In such times the males are pugnacious 

 against other males of their own species, but nothing 

 more. The females are not at all pugnacious under any 

 circumstances." 



In a subsequent issue of the above journal (Oct. 1874), 

 a lengthy reply from the pen of the writer is recorded. 

 In it occurs evidence of the sparrow's irritable, and 

 above all, pugnacious disposition, substantiated by the 

 observations of Messrs. Abel Willis, John Strouse, and 

 others of Germantown, Pa. The same number contains 

 an article from the pen of Mr. Stephen Gould, of New- 

 port, R. I., corroborative of Dr. Brewer's statements. 

 This writer claims that the house sparrow is nearly always 

 accompanied by the American goldfinch and our com- 

 mon sparrow, and actually fraternizes with the black- 

 birds ; in short, courts the society of other birds rather 

 than seeks to drive them away. The male birds only, 

 he affirms, " fight among themselves after the manner 

 of roosters, but do not seem to molest other birds." 



As early as 1874, in this country, do we discover that 

 the sparrows are not as destructive to insects as was at 

 first supposed. None will deny that they have been 

 of service. For several years prior to their introduc- 

 tion, the measuring worms preyed upon the leaves of 

 trees to such an extent that, when summer dawned, 

 scarcely a tree was to be seen that had not been rifled of 

 its foliage. So effectively had the sparrows accomplished 



