BIEDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 241 



of eyes and spreading backwards to sides of neck ; lesser wing-coverts bright 

 chestnut. 



Female. Duller colored and lacking the black on chin and throat ; pale brown 

 stripe back of eyes ; bill dark-brown, lower mandible yellowish at base. 



Young. Very similar to female but male often recognizable by a few black patches 

 on throat and chin. 



Habitat. Europe, etc. Introduced about twenty years ago into the United States, 

 where it has become naturalized in nearly all inhabited districts. 



Abundant resident about buildings. Nests in bird boxes, holes in 

 trees, on branches of trees, in vines and in various places about houses 

 and other buildings. The nest is composed of dried grasses, pieces of 

 string, etc., lined with an abundance of feathers. The dull-whitish eggs, 

 from four to seven in number, are thickly spotted and streaked with 

 different shades of brown. They measure about .90 by .62 of an inch. 

 In this locality at least two, and probably more, broods are reared in a 

 season. The English Sparrow, as this species is commonly known 

 throughout the United States, is universally despised by farmers, fruit- 

 growers and naturalists because of its pernicious habits. In the spring 

 it feeds largely on the buds of fruit trees, bushes and vines, chief among 

 which may be mentioned the pear, apple, peach, plum, cherry, currant 

 and grape. Different garden products, such as lettuce, beans, peas, 

 cabbage, berries, pears, apples and grapes are greedily fed upon The 

 sparrow greatly damages the corn crop, tearing open the husks, devour- 

 ing the tender part of the ear and exposing the remainder to the ravages 

 of insects and to atmospheric changes. It alights on fields of wheat, 

 oats and barley, consuming a large quantity, and, by swaying to and fro 

 on the slender stalks and flapping its wings, showers the remainder on 

 the ground. In addition to a much varied vegetable diet, the sparrow 

 has been known to kill and devour the young of other small birds. Our 

 native song and insectivorous birds, viz : the Kobin, Bluebird, Wren } 

 Chippy, Song Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo and some few others, which 

 were formerly plentiful residents in our lawns, parks and gardens, have 

 rapidly and steadily diminished since the hosts of pugnacious sparrows 

 have appeared. This species is more or less gregarious at all seasons 

 of the year. When not engaged in rearing their young they are always 

 observed in flocks. In the late summer and autumn they assemble in 

 flocks of hundreds and daily repair to the wheat and cornfields in the 

 vicinity of cities and towns, where they commit serious depredations, 

 that are only checked by harvesting the crops. In 1883 the members 

 of the West Chester Microscopical Society, and several farmers' clubs 

 of Chester, Delaware and Lancaster counties, recognizing the great 

 injury which was being done by this feathered pest, passed resolutions 

 and petitioned our Legislature, then in session, to repeal that portion 

 of the act of Assembly which made it a misdemeanor to kill the English 

 Sparrow. Through the prompt and energetic efforts of Senators A. D. 

 Harlan, of Chester county, Thomas V. Cooper, of Delaware county, and 

 16 BIRDS. 



