[518] BIRDS OF OREGON 



Weaver Finches: Family Ploceidae 



English Sparrow: 



Passer domesticus domesticus (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. "Form stout and stocky; bill very stout, curved, side outlines bulg- 

 ing to near the end; wing pointed; tail shorter than wings, nearly even; feet small. 

 Adult male: lores, throat, and chest patch black; rest of under parts grayish; top of 

 head and ear coverts grayish, with bright chestnut patches between eye and nape; 

 wing with chestnut patch and two white bands; rest of upper parts brown, back 

 streaked with black; upper parts dull brown; under parts dull gray. Adult female, : 

 crown and hind neck grayish brown or olive; entire under parts brownish white 

 or gray; back browner, less rufescent than in male. Length: ^.^0-6.^, wing about 

 L. 85-3. oo, tail 2..35-Z-50." (Bailey) Nest: An untidy mass of stray feathers, grass, 

 wool, or any other available material, either about buildings or in trees. Eggs: 

 4 to 7, white, thickly spotted with brown and purple. 



DISTRIBUTION. General: Introduced into America in 1850 at Brooklyn and later, at 

 many other places. Now established throughout country and southern Canada. 

 In Oregon: Permanent resident in every part. 



THIS UBIQUITOUS little foreigner, the English Sparrow, introduced by 

 extended and painful efforts into Oregon and other sections of the United 

 States, is now well established and thoroughly at home throughout 

 Oregon. No hamlet or ranch is too remote for the English Sparrows to 

 discover, and they make themselves at home with all the assurance of 

 the domestic stock. In the grain-raising sections of the State they are 

 sometimes seen in great swarms flying into the grain to feed and returning 

 to the weedy fence rows for shelter when alarmed. Their adaptability, 

 which accounts for their success in an alien and hostile land, is best 

 illustrated by their newly acquired habit of picking insects from the 

 radiators of autos parked just after having been driven at high speeds. 

 We have frequently found sparrows busily at work on the radiators of 

 our cars by the time we reached the curb. 



Meadowlarks, Blackbirds, and Troupials: 



Family Icteridae 



Bobolink: 



Dolichonyx oryzjvorus (Linnaeus) 



DESCRIPTION. "Bill conic-acute, cutting edges bent in; tail shorter than wing, with 

 stiffened acute feathers; wings long and pointed; feet stout, tarsus shorter than 

 middle toe and claw; claws all very large. Adult male in spring: under parts wholly 

 black, upper parts black, with cream or buffy brown patch on hind neck, light 

 streaking on wing and fore parts of back, grayish scapulars, and white hind back, 

 rump, and upper tail coverts. Adult female: ground color yellowish brown, paler and 

 plain on under parts except for blackish streaks on flanks; heavily streaked on upper 



