CHAPTER XXVII 



BRANCH CHORDATA (Continued}. CLASS AVES: 

 THE BIRDS 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW (Passer domesticus} 



TECHNICAL NOTE. The English sparrow may be found now in 

 cities and villages all over the United States. It has become a 

 veritable pest, and the killing of the few needed for the laboratory 

 may be looked pn as desirable rather than deplorable, as is the 

 killing of birds in almost all other cases. The males have a black 

 throat, with the other head-markings strong and contrasting (black, 

 brown, and white), while the females have a uniform grayish and 

 brownish coloration on the head. 



Specimens are best taken alive, as shooting usually injures them 

 for dissection. One can rely on the ingenuity of the boys of the 

 class to procure a sufficient number of specimens. Observations 

 on the habits of the birds should be made by the pupils as they go 

 to and from school. For dissection use fresh specimens if possible. 

 If desirable a pigeon or dove may be used in place of the sparrow. 



External structure. Note in the sparrow the same 

 general arrangement of body parts as in the toad, the 

 body being divided into head, upper limbs, trunk, and 

 lower limbs. In the toad, however, all of the limbs are 

 fitted for walking and jumping, whereas in the sparrow the 

 anterior pair of appendages, the wings, are modified to 

 be organs of flight, and the posterior limbs are specially 

 adapted for perching. Note that the sparrow is covered 

 with feathers, some long, some short, in some places thick 

 and in others thin, but all fitting together to form a com- 

 plete covering for the body. Note also that the anterior 

 end of the head is prolonged into a hard bony structure, 



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