340 Ewing, English Sparrow and Bird Mites. [july 



not suffer from the abstinence for at least two days, and upon an 

 examination four days later, several individuals were found to be 

 yet alive. 



Individuals from both species when placed on the top of a clean 

 table could be found ten minutes later on the floor and at a con- 

 siderable distance away. Thus within a period of four days it 

 would be seen that these creatures could travel for no incon- 

 siderable distances, as they evidently do when food becomes 

 scarce. From this it would follow that chickens nesting in barns, 

 outhouses, in chicken coops placed near the bases of trees, or in 

 hen-houses in which sparrows were allowed to build would be 

 especially subject to inoculation from the deserted sparrow nests. 



Summary. 



1. The English Sparrow frequently harbors and is the host of 

 one of our worst, if not the worst, of poultry pests, the chicken 

 louse or chicken mite, Dermanyssus gallina? Redi. 



2. Sparrows become repeatedly inoculated with these mites 

 from the chicken roosts because of their habit of lining their nests 

 with poultry feathers, many of which have lice upon them, shaken 

 off of the infested chickens when wallowing in the dust, etc. 



3. Sparrow nests when built in the vicinity of chicken roosts, 

 upon becoming deserted may leave hundreds or thousands of lice, 

 to seek food and shelter elsewhere. These individuals being very 

 active on their feet and able to sustain themselves for several days 

 away from a host may travel considerable distances and infest 

 new chicken-houses. 



4. The English Sparrow likewise harbors and is the host of 

 perhaps the most important of all the external parasites of our 

 native song birds, and likewise of our tamed cage birds, the bird 

 mite, Dermanyssus avium De Geer. 



