THE ENGLISH SPARROW, 



( Passer domesticus. ) 



In America no bird is more thor- 

 oughly disHked and its presence depre- 

 ciated than the English Sparrow. No 

 one interested in birds enjoys its pres- 

 ence. Its obnoxious character is well 

 known by nearly every person who lives 

 in a locality which it frequents. It is 

 certainly improper for us to give this 

 bird, of which we can say but very little 

 in its favor, the name of an eminently- 

 respected people. The name English 

 Sparrow is a misnomer and was first 

 given to the species because most of 

 these Sparrows, which were imported 

 into America from Europe, came from 

 England. The name became so fixed 

 before the character of the birds was 

 fully understood that it is now impos- 

 sible to make a change. These Sparrows 

 are not only natives of England, but also 

 of nearly the whole of Europe and parts 

 of Asia. They are the House Sparrows 

 of these countries. In the United States 

 they are simply a nuisance, and some 

 one has well said that our proper com- 

 mon name for them would be "Obnox- 

 ious Sparrows." 



The European House Sparrow was 

 first introduced, so far as known, into 

 this country in the fall of 1850, when 

 eight pairs were brought to Brooklyn, 

 New York. These did not thrive and in 

 1852, more were ordered and during the 

 next year were set free in Greenwood 

 Cemetery. These thrived and multiplied. 

 Many other lots were imported and set 

 free in various cities during the next 

 few years, and from these places pairs 

 were carried to other cities and towns. 

 "In most cases these few birds were 

 carefully watched, protected and fed, 

 and so nmllii)licd rapidly, forming new 

 colonics from which the birds spread 

 sleadil\' williont assistance, and more 

 rapidly 1)\ successive transportations by 



man." A publication of the Department 

 of Agriculture states that before the 

 year 1875 there were many large Spar- 

 row colonies throughout the United 

 States east of the Mississippi, as well as 

 several in Canada, one or more in Utah, 

 one at Galveston, Texas, and probably 

 another in San Francisco, California. 

 While these Sparrows are most abun- 

 dant east of the Mississippi River they 

 are also common in many localities west 

 of the river, even to the base of the 

 Rocky Mountains in Colorado. West of 

 the Rockies it is common in isolated lo- 

 calities. They are also well established 

 in the eastern portions of Canada. 

 Throughout their range they are much 

 more common in cities and towns, along 

 roads and about farms.' Even in their 

 native, range in the Old World these 

 birds are more attached to the vicinity 

 of human habitations than any other 

 wild bird. Professor Alfred Newton 

 has said : "One may safely assert that 

 they are not known to thrive anywhere 

 far away from the habitations or works 

 of men," and they follow men when they 

 establish new settlements. 



The United States Department of 

 Agriculture has made extensive inves- 

 tigations regarding the relation of the 

 English Sparrows to man. As a result 

 of the examination of over six hundred 

 stomachs it was decided that these birds 

 were a serious pest. Th<^se investigations 

 also showed that the food of the young 

 instead of being exclusively insectivor- 

 ous, as is the case with the young of 

 probably all (^f our native sparrows, 

 fully one-third of their food consisted 

 of grain. Only about two per cent, of 

 their food was weed seeds. The remain- 

 der of the food consisted of insects, 

 many of which are of harmful species, 

 but the .-niionnt of strain ihat thcv con- 



20J 



