42 C. S. Merriam Birds of Connecticut. 



establishment of a regular habit of searching for them. In spring, 

 when the trees are in flower, and the swollen buds give place to tender 

 green leaves, the House Sparrows join the early Warblers in running 

 about among the branches in pursuit of one another as well as of the 

 small beetles that come there to feed upon the fresh foliage. But so 

 far as the accomplishment of the object for which they were im- 

 ported, viz., the extermination of the canker worm (Anisopteryx 

 vernata and A. pometaria) in our larger towns and cities, they have 

 most signally failed. That they occasionally devour the full-grown 

 moth can not be doubted ; neither do I feel justified in denying that 

 they sometimes eat the worms themselves, though I have never seen 

 them touch one not even when hopping about in the midst of 

 hundreds of canker worms. They seem to prefer the small beetles 

 and seeds abounding in the horse droppings about the streets. It is 

 true that there was a great diminution in the ranks of the canker 

 worms soon after the introduction of the House Sparrows, but I am 

 informed that this was due to a parasite (Platyg aster] which preyed 

 upon and destroyed great numbers of the worms by depositing its 

 eggs in the eggs of the canker worm moth, and not, as generally 

 supposed, to the Sparrows. It may, perhaps, be considered as some- 

 what of a digression in a mere local list like this, to devote so much 

 space to the biography of a species, but I believe that notes record- 

 ing actual observations on the habits of any bird should always 

 prove acceptable, especially when there is difference of opinion, result- 

 ing in controversy, regarding the merits of a species, for in this way 

 the possibility that individuals, or colonies, may differ in habits in 

 different localities, or at different seasons, is suggested, and warns us 

 not to be too dogmatic in our statements, or too hasty in drawing 

 conclusions. 



For abundant and unquestionable evidence of the pugnacity and 

 disagreeable qualities of this bird, in some sections, see the writings 

 of Coues, Gentry, and others. Velmont de Bomare, writing in 1791, 

 says: " In Brandebourg, in order to diminish the ravages committed 

 by Sparrows, a price is set on their heads, and the peasants are com- 

 pelled by law to bring in a certain number yearly; in each village 

 there are Sparrow hunters who sell the birds to the peasants to ena- 

 ble them to pay their tribute. ... It follows the farmer while sow- 

 ing, harvesting, threshing, or feeding his poultry ; it enters the Dove- 

 cot, and with its bill pierces the throats of young pigeons, to obtain 

 the grain in their craw."* 



* Quoted by Charles Pickering in Proceed. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. xi, p. 158, 

 April 17, 1867. 



