18 Wild Bird Guests 



eluding 1914, we have buried in the neighbor- 

 hood of five hundred thousand birds, making a 

 total of two and a half millions of birds that 

 have been destoyed by this epidemic. We have 

 worked constantly to find out the real cause of 

 the epidemic, but as yet have not been able to 

 say just what it is. " 



A considerable number of wild birds as well 

 as domesticated ones are troubled with a parasite 

 known by the formidable name of Coccidiosis, 

 and which in some species causes a dangerous 

 disease of the intestines. Professor Philip B. 

 Hadley of the Biological Laboratory at King- 

 ston, Rhode Island, who has been studying this 

 parasite, has found it in European sparrows, field 

 sparrows, white-throated sparrows, j uncos, rob- 

 ins, and hermit thrushes. He also found that 

 seemingly the parasite can be transmitted from 

 European sparrows to domestic poultry. Pro- 

 fessor Hadley considers that the spreading of this 

 disease from one part of the country to another 

 by means of these birds and especially by the 

 European sparrow is not only a menace to domes- 

 tic poultry, but may result in the infection and 

 destruction of wild game birds. This would 

 seem to be another reason why we should unite 

 in an effort to reduce the number of European 

 sparrows. 



