ENGLISH SPARROW (Passer domesticus). 



Length, about 6^ inches. Its incessant chat- 

 tering, quarrelsome disposition, and abundance 

 and familiarity about human habitations distin- 

 guish it from our native sparrows. 



Range: Resident throughout the United 

 States and southern Canada. 



Habits and economic status: Almost univer- 

 sally condemned since its introduction into the 

 United States, the English sparrow has not 

 only held its own, but has ever increased in 

 numbers and extended its range in spite of all 

 opposition. Its habit of driving out or even 

 killing more beneficial species and the defiling 

 of buildings by its droppings and by its own 

 unsightly structures, are serious objections to 

 this sparrow. Moreover, in rural districts, it is 

 destructive to grain, fruit, peas, beans, and other vegetables. On the other hand, 

 the bird feeds to some extent on a large number of insect pesta, and this fact 

 points to the need of a new investigation of the present economic status of the 

 species, especially as it promises to be of service in holding in check the newly 

 introduced alfalfa weevil, which threatens the alfalfa industry in Utah and 

 neighboring States. In cities most of the food of the English sparrow is waste 

 material secured from the streets. 



^^ 



CROW BLACKBIRD (Quiscalus quiscula). 



Length, 12 inches. Shorter by at least 3 inches than the other gracklea with 

 trough-shaped tails. Black, with purplish, bluish, and bronze reflections. 



Range: Breeds throughout the Upited States 

 west to Texas, Colorado, and Montana, and in 

 southern Canada; winters in the southern half 

 of the breeding range. 



Habits and economic status: This blackbird 

 is a beautiful species, and is well known from 

 its habit of congregating in city^ parka and nest- 

 ing there year after year. Like other species 

 which habitually assemble in great flocks, it is 

 capable of inflicting much damage on any crop 

 it attacks, and where it is harmful a judicious 

 reduction of numbers is probably sound policy. 



It shares with the crow and blue jay the evil 

 habit of pillaging the nests of small birds of 

 eggs and young. Nevertheless it does much 

 good by destroying insect pests, especially 

 white grubs, weevils, grasshoppers, and cater- 

 pillars. Among the caterpillars are army worms 

 and other cutworms. When blackbirds gather 

 in large flocks, as in the Mississippi Valley, 

 they may greatly damage grain, either when 

 first sown or when in the milk. In winter 

 they subsist mostly on weed seed and waste 

 gram. (See Biol. Surv. Bui. 13, pp. 53-70.) 



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