78 OUR NATIVE BIRDS 



story windows, which the sparrows have not yet en- 

 closed in their list of proscribed localities. 



The destruction of the sparrows must not be left to 

 small boys. In towns and cities the work should be 

 undertaken by competent persons authorized or engaged 

 by the municipality. Great care must be exercised 

 in handling strychnine. 



Where the measures just described are carried out, 

 the sparrows will not become too numerous in gardens, 

 in parks, and on farms. They will be largely restricted 

 to the business streets of towns and cities and to other 

 localities that are not inhabited by native birds. 



It is not impossible that our native birds will to some 

 degree accustom themselves to the sparrows. Robins, 

 purple martins, red-headed and downy woodpeckers, I 

 think, have already learned to hold their own success- 

 fully. Last winter I watched a downy woodpecker 

 examining a soft maple. A sparrow drew up very 

 close as if he intended to learn the downy's trade ; 

 suddenly the little carpenter turned upon his specta- 

 tor and gave him a vicious peck, and the sparrow with- 

 drew to a more respectful distance without an attempt 

 at retaliation. 



Moreover, the plucky, wary little creatures certainly 

 deserve some consideration if not even a little admira- 

 tion. I must confess that I prefer a flock of spar- 

 rows in my back yard to the shroud-like loneliness 

 of snowdrifts ; and in its habits and its conquest of the 

 world the sparrow is undoubtedly one of the most 

 interesting birds. He is an unequivocal imperialist 



