156 Canadian Record of Science. 



Another object engaging the attention of the Union is 

 to determine as nearly as possible the true status in Amer- 

 ica, of the European Home Sparrow (Passer Domesticus), 

 commonly known as the English Sparrow — by collecting 

 the facts necessary to settle the question of the eligibility 

 or ineligibility of this sparrow as a naturalized resident of 

 the country. The question is regarded as one of great 

 economic consequence, to be determined primarily by ascer- 

 taining whether this bird be, upon the whole, directly or 

 indirectly, injurious or beneficial to agriculture and horti- 

 culture, its economic relations, depending directly and 

 mainly upon the nature of its food ; indirectly upon the 

 effect, if any, which its presence may have on useful native 

 birds and beneficial insects. 



The chief object of my communication this evening, is 

 to call attention to that portion of the work of the Union 

 which relates to the consideration of the important question 

 of the destruction of the native birds in North America, 

 and more especially, to join in the crusade against the 

 fashion of wearing birds for decoration. This work is not 

 likely to have been initiated by those scientists whom I 

 have named, had they not been quite certain that there 

 was an urgent need for it. 



In the bird-world, as elsewhere, the struggle for existence 

 even under natural conditions, is a severe one, undue in. 

 crease being held well in check. Birds and their eggs and 

 young, are not only the natural prey of many predaceous 

 mammals and reptiles, but also of predaceous birds. Squirrels 

 spermophiles and mice, although not in a strict sense 

 rapacious, are among the worst natural enemies of the 

 smaller birds, whose eggs and young they seek and devour 

 with avidity; while many birds, not usually classed as 

 predatory-as the jays, crows, grackles, cuckoos, and some 

 others, wage unremitting warfare upon the eggs and young 

 of the weaker species. "The elements are also far more 

 destructive of bird-life than is commonly recognized. Late 

 cold storms in spring destroy many of the early migrants, 

 sometimes nearly exterminating certain species over con- 

 siderable areas where they had become prematurely settled 



