THE SPARROW IN AMERICA. 55 



a thing of the past, lumbers will still be continued to 

 be fed to the young birds while they are nestlings, but 

 these will be mingled with other diet of a vegetal 

 character. 



Dipterous insects, but chiefly in the mature state, 

 are greedily eaten when procurable. To capture these 

 creatures requires no little skill and address. Still I 

 have witnessed such feats by the sparrows, but there 

 was lacking that inimitable precision which character- 

 izes the MuscicapidcB) Vireonidce, and to a slight degree, 

 the Sylvicolidce. From the exceedingly limited supply 

 of dipterous food which these birds are able to procure, 

 it is obvious that we cannot look to them to rid man of 

 many of his most inveterate tormentors. The principal 

 insects of this order that are preyed upon are the com- 

 mon house fly (Musca domestica), stable fly (Stomoxys 

 calcitrans), white-lined horse-fly (Tabanus lineola), mos- 

 quito (Calex tceniorliynchiis). 



In addition to the foregoing, our various species of 

 Aphidaz and Coccidce, are exterminated in countless 

 myriads. Perhaps the good which they accomplish in 

 the destruction of these vegetation-destroyers will com- 

 pensate for the mischief which they commit in other 

 directions. This good quality, however, certainly loses 

 much of its value when brought before the light of in- 

 vestigation. 'Tis true that these rapidly multiplying 

 creatures are held somewhat in check under sparrow 

 domination. But then how much better is the condi- 

 tion of affairs now than in the past ? When our smaller 

 native birds were common denizens of our yards and 

 fields, before the introduction of the sparrows, aphides 

 were not more abundant than under the present regime. 

 Any of our numerous insect-eating birds would destroy 



