248 BIRDS OF ILLINOIS. 



"The House Sparrow of Europe has been introduced into so many 

 parts of the United States as to render it probable that at no dis- 

 tant day it will have become one of our most familiar species. 

 Brought over to the New World within a comparatively few years, 

 it has commenced to multiply about the larger cities, especially in 

 the environs of New York, as also about Portland, Boston, Newark, 

 and Philadelphia * * * One thousand birds were 



let loose in the public squares of Philadelphia in the spring of 

 1869." (Hist. N. Am. B., 1874.) 



Concerning this unmitigated pest we have little to say, further 

 than to bewail the misfortune of its introduction, and to plead for 

 its extermination. It is in every respect a first-class nuisance, to 

 be classed along with the house-rat and other noxious vermin. 



SUBFAMILY SPIZELLIN^E. THE AMERICAN SPARROWS. 



CHAR. Bill variable, usually almost straight; sometimes curved. Commissure gen- 

 erally nearly straight, or slightly concave. Upper mandible wider than lower. Nostrils 

 exposed. Wings moderate; the outer primaries not much rounded. Tail variable. Feet 

 large; tarsi mostly longer than the middle toe. 



The species are usually small, and of dull color, though frequently 

 handsomely marked. Nearly all are streaked on the back and 

 crown, often on the belly. None of the United States species have 

 any red, blue, or orange, and the yellow, when present, is as a 

 superciliary streak, or on the elbow edge of the wing. 



In the arrangement of this subfamily, as of the others belonging 

 to the Fringittidte, we do not profess to give anything like a natural 

 system, but merely an attempt at a convenient artificial scheme by 

 which the determination of the genera may be facilitated. 



A. Tail small and short, considerably or decidedly shorter than the wings, owing either 

 to the elongation of the wing or the shortening of the tail. Lateral toes shorter than 

 the middle without the claws. Species streaked above and below. < Ammodramese.) 

 Ammodramus. Tarsus not longer than middle toe, with claw. No white outer tail- 

 feathers. 



a. Subgenus Ammodramus. Bill slender, the depth at the base less than half 

 the culmen. Tail graduated, the feathers acute. Outstretched feet reaching 

 to or beyond tip of tail. 



b. Subgenus Coturniculus. Bill stouter, the depth at base more than half the 

 culmen (except in C. lecontei). Tail graduated or double-rounded, the feathers 

 narrow and acute. Outstretched feet falling short of tip of tail. 



