174 



This bird is not native to America, but is one of our most undesirable 

 importations from Europe. In spite of its obvious seed-eating habits 

 and structure, it was originally introduced as a caterpillar destroyer. 

 It does, of course, like nearly all birds, sometimes eat caterpillars, but 

 does not approximate in this direction the capacity of the birds it has 

 displaced. Being a bird of cities and barnyards most of its activities 

 are in localities where there is plenty of food of non-insectivorous character, 

 garbage, waste grain, etc. In the autumn, it makes excursions into the 

 country and visits fields in large flocks, mostly after harvest when waste 

 grain is abundant, but occasionally before, and then causes considerable 

 loss. Its food habits thus are harmful or not, according to circumstances, 

 and perhaps the balance on the whole lies well in its favour. The principal 

 other objections to the House Sparrow are three in number. It drives 

 more useful species away, it is very dirty about buildings, and it is sus- 

 pected of spreading poultry diseases. 



The House Sparrows drive other birds away by three methods: 

 monopolizing the food supply; occupying their nesting places; and by 

 pugnacious and bulldozing habits. During the nesting season while the 

 young are being fed they come into direct competition with other species 

 depending for the support of their young on the same insect forms (the 

 young of all Passerine birds require insects, though those of this species 

 are not long dependent upon them). Thus far perhaps they may be nearly 

 as useful as the forms they displace, but most of the displaced birds are 

 continuous insect hunters and the House Sparrow only a seasonal one. 

 After nesting duties are over they again turn their attention to waste 

 material and become of smaller importance, whereas the superseded birds 

 continue to be useful through the season. The House Sparrows are with 

 us through the winter, showing no tendency to migrate, hence they are 

 on the ground in the early spring, and when our native summer residents, 

 which are with only one or two exceptions more or less migratory either 

 as species or individuals, arrive, they find the most attractive nesting sites 

 already occupied. The difficulty of keeping Sparrows out of nesting boxes 

 is proof enough of this situation. They are quarrelsome, also, and though, 

 when once established, most native species are quite able to hold their 

 own against aggression, they do not like the constant turmoil in which 

 they must engage when in the vicinity of the House Sparrow. It is far 

 easier to avoid than combat them. Hence few other birds care to live in 

 their immediate neighbourhood. 



The nests are great, bulky, untidy masses of straw and grasses and 

 the tendency of these birds to fill down-spouts and load with Utter every 

 projecting architectural feature of buildings makes them objectionable. 

 Added to the nesting habits of the House Sparrows, their congregating 

 in numbers throughout the whole year in sheltered corners under cornices 

 and porches causes accumulations of filth that is exasperating to the 

 householder. Today one of the important problems in architectural 

 offices is to design satisfactory detail that will not harbour Sparrows, 

 whose dirt disfigures the most careful design and disintegrates the material 

 of which the building is composed. The last charge, that of carrying 

 disease, is not the least of the charges against the species. Feeding 

 familiarly with the hens and freely flying about from one poultry yard 

 to another they have every opportunity to be effective disease carriers. 



