Birds observed at Montreal. 4921 
up by the handful. The insect, when it reached maturity, 
proved to be a small Grass moth, Crambus vulgivagellus, well 
known to entomologists, but had not before been observed 
to be at all injurious. 
The same insect was quite common at Montreal during 
that season, but I have not since observed it. 
A word in conclusion regarding the Kuropean sparrow 
Passer domesticus, introduced to America, I believe, with the 
expectation of its proving a check upon injurious insects. 
It is now conceded by almost all our leading American or- 
nithologists that the experiment has been a failure, and the 
serious charge is made, that, owing to its noisy and quarrel- 
some habits, it drives away our native birds. Nothing that 
is eatable seems to come amiss to the sparrow, although its 
favourite food is grain of all kinds, as its robust form and 
strong beak indicate. In the town its principal food is the 
partially digested oats which it finds in the horse droppings, 
and this with the addition of crumbs and odd scraps is its 
only food during the winter months. During the summer 
it no doubt eats insects. These are, however, mostly the 
smaller dung-beetles, Aphodii, which it finds about cattle 
droppings and in the roads. It probably does eat a few 
caterpillars, but is just as likely to destroy a parasitized 
larva as a healthy specimen. 
They are expert spider-catchers, hovering in front of the 
webs and picking them out with great dexterity, but Ihave 
no reason to think that they destroy many injurious insects. 
I have watched them scolding and fighting in a garden 
where that pest to the fruit-grower, the currant saw-fly, 
Nematus ventricosus, was to be seen in scores about the 
bushes, but so far as I could see, they did not take the 
slightest notice of them, Last summer, the conspicuous 
black and white caterpillars of the hickory Tussock moth, 
Helesidota cary, weve very plentiful on Montreal mountain, 
but so far as I could learn were not touched by the 
sparrows, 
Later in the season I saw a flock busily engaged in a field 
