KIMNCIM.ID.E — Tin-; KlN("IIi:s. 527 



birds;, anil tlie ox]n'iiiiiont was supposed to l»c a t'ailuiv, wlu'ii it was asi-er- 

 taiiiiMl iliaL they liad lu'takcn tlieiiist'lves to the xiciiiily of staltles in tlio 

 soutiieiii part ot" tlie city, liad inerojised an«l iindti))li('i! in l.irL;e mnidters, 

 reappearing in the winter t<» tlie nuinlier of one huiuhcd and fifty. 'I'hev 

 were reguhirly ivi\ hy the eity lorester eaeli day in the deer-park, and ronsteil 

 at ni'djt in tlie tiiatcli of the roofs of the l»uihlint;s. Since then thev lunc 

 very laru'ely increased. Ah(»nt twenty, that same summer, were set at lilierty 

 in Monument Sipiare, Charlestown. 



In lsr>!l ahout one thctusand hirds were, imported, Ity tlie City Clovern- 

 ment, into IMiihahdphia. Fortunately they came in Ljood condition, and heiiiLj 

 released early in ^^ay immediately separated into .scattered parties and pi"e- 

 ]»;ired for ihemselves new homes. Some api)eared in Morristown and other 

 distant towns in New dersey. Others wandereil to ( lerniantown, and the 

 rem«)ter suhurhs of IMiiladelidiia, where thev found the eherrv-trees in full 

 blossom, and where their ex}>loits in strijtjmiL,' the blooms from the trees 

 «j;ave a not very favorable tirst im]»ression of these new-«'on>.ei'S. 



It has been exceedin^lv interesting- to watch the manners and habits of 

 these strani^ers in their nt;w lionies. They have become ((uite tame, are fear- 

 less and i^'entle, and as thev have been verv kindlv tieateil live in a e<»ndition 

 of semi-domestieation. At tirst they built their nests, and passed their win- 

 ters, in New York, anioni,' the thick ivies that cover the walls of so many 

 churches, in such eases building' «_ilobular nests. As soon, however, as suit- 

 able boxes were prepared for them in sutticient quantities, these were taken 

 possession, of in preferenct' t(» anything else. 



At the time of their introduction the >liade-trees in the ])arks and sipiares 

 of New York, IMiiladelphia, lirooklyn, Newark, and other phices, were greatly 

 infested with the larwe of the measure-worms that destroyed iheir foliai^e. 

 Since then these worms have almost entirely disappeared. A doubt has 

 been expressed whether the Sparrows destroy these insects. That they 

 eat them in the laiva' form I do not know, but to their destruction of the 

 chrysalis, the moth, and the eggs, I can testify, having been eye- witness 

 to the act. 



A})prehensions have been ex])ressed lest these new-comers may molest and 

 drive away our own native birds. How this may be when the Sparrows 

 become more numerous cannot now be determined, but so far they manifest 

 no such disposition. Since their introductiitn into lioston the Chipping 

 Sparrows a])pear to have increased, and to associate by ])refi'rence with their 

 Kuroj)ean visitors, feeding with them unm(dested. I have been unable to 

 detect a single instance in whi( ii they have been molested, in any manner, 

 by their larger com]»anion.s. Their ]iredat<»ry ag^ressi(>ns, however, upon the 

 rights of the common Hobiu have been noticed, and deserve mention. The 

 Sparrows a])]»ear to be extravagantly fond of earthworms, but not able to 

 hunt for them themselves. They have learned to watch the IJohin as it 

 forages for these worms, kee])ing around, at a res])ectful distance, and as soon 



