The English Sparrow 6i 



"In the spring of 1853 they were all let loose in the grounds of Greenwood 

 Cemetery, and a man hired to watch them. They did well and multiplied, and 

 I have original notes taken from time to time of their increase and colonization 

 over our great country." 



This appears to have been only the first of many importations that fol- 

 lowed. For example. Colonel William Rhodes, of Quebec, Canada, introduced 

 Sparrows at Portland, Maine, in 1854. Other men brought some to Peace Dale, 

 Rhode Island, in 1858. In i860 twelve birds were liberated in Madison Square, 

 New York City; and four years later they were introduced into Central Park. 

 In 1866 200 were set free in Union Park, New York City. Forty pairs were 

 brought to New Haven, Connecticut in 1867. Twenty Sparrows were turned 

 loose in Boston Common in 1868. In 1869 the City Government of Philadel- 

 phia bought over one thousand Sparrows. In the same year twenty pairs 

 were brought to Cleveland, Ohio, and sixty-six pairs were taken from New 

 York to Cincinnati. Shortly after this they were introduced in San Francisco. 



It will be seen therefore from the above records, which are not at all com- 

 plete, that the present population of English Sparrows did not develop in this 

 country from a single importation, as has sometimes been stated. 



Their appearance seems to have been hailed with delight by the people of 

 the country generally, for many records tend to show that after they once 

 became fairly well established in the East, there sprang up a regular Sparrow 

 craze, for the birds were captured and taken to scores, if not hundreds, of 

 places in different parts of the country. 



Not only were they distributed artificially, but the birds also spread rapidly 

 by their own initiative. Their progress was made chiefly along the highways, 

 where the droppings of horses furnished an abundant supply of half- digested 

 grain, and along the railroads where the grain-cars, particularly in autumn, 

 were continually scattering food along the right-of-way. 



At the present time there are comparatively few communities in the 

 United States or in southern Canada where the English Sparrow is not well 

 known, and probably it is the most numerous species of bird in North America. 

 It is chiefly a bird of the cities and towns, and is usually not found in abundance 

 in the thinly populated parts of the country. In the autumn, however, when 

 the Sparrows are most numerous, owing to the recently reared broods, and in 

 cities where the Sparrow population is already at its maximum, many of these 

 birds are naturally forced out of the cities and towns in quest of food. 



In no way does the Enghsh Sparrow show its fondness for living near human 

 habitations more than in its nesting-habits. Unlike other Sparrows, it rarely, 

 if ever, constructs its nest in woods, thickets, or fields at any considerable dis- 

 tance from a house. During the breeding-season the birds swarm in the towns 

 and cities and there, in crevices about buildings, in water-spouts, or in boxes 

 put up for the convenience of other birds, it makes its home. The hollows of 

 trees are frequently used for this purpose. When such nesting-sites are no 



