Sparrow Row 157 



will be in dominant possession of the country as well as 

 the city. Some people advocate a wholesale slaughter, 

 but others always object, for they still fall back to the fact 

 that he is a bird. 



For several years I had a bird-house that was rented 

 each summer by the bluebirds. Then one spring, when 

 they returned from the South, they found a pair of spar- 

 rows in possession. After that I was never able to get the 

 bluebird tenants to return, although I pitched the spar- 

 rows into the street and cleaned the house thoroughly. 

 For every sparrow I choked and ejected another occupant 

 came to take possession, till at last I used the box for 

 kindling. I had the same difficulty with some swallow 

 tenants. The bluebird, the white-breasted swallow, and 

 Parkman wren are all common residents about our city, 

 and each of these birds likes to take up a homestead in a 

 good, sheltered bird-box. From my own standpoint, my 

 property increases in value whenever one of these song- 

 sters takes up a residence with me. On the other hand, 

 my real estate drops every time an English sparrow moves 

 in, because no self-respecting feathered native can dwell 

 in the same neighborhood. 



No one can dispute the sparrow's success as a family 

 man. He works overtime to people the earth. The stork 

 of the sparrow species is a busy individual for almost half 

 of every year. Then, in addition, the English sparrow 

 has the advantage over the songsters that nest in the woods 

 and fields, for they have so many natural enemies, such 

 as hawks, owls, animals, and snakes. The Englisher lives 

 about the crowded city, where he has little to fear, because 

 men are unobserving and rarely interfere. 



