FINCHES, SPARROWS 



(S21) Loxia curvirostra minor 



iBrchm.) (Or., crooked; Lat., curved bill; 

 smaller). 



RED CROSSBILL. Ad. a" — 

 Plumage as shown by the bird in the 

 foreground; a peculiar shade of red 

 — almost a brick-red, lightest on the 

 head, rump and breast; wings, tail 

 and centres of feathers on the back 

 dusky. 9 dusky and yellowish, the 

 latter brightest on the rump. Young 

 6"s show all stages of plumage be- 

 tween these two. Mandibles always 

 crossed. L., 6.00; W., 3.50; T., 

 2.25; Tar. and B., .65. Nesl — Of 

 twigs, rootlets, mosses, and bark, 

 in coniferous trees. 



Range — Breeds throughout Can- 

 ada and south to Col., Mich., New 

 England, and, in the Alleghenies, 

 to Ga. 



ENGLISH SPARROWS are more abundant in cities 

 than the people about whose houses they live. Tliey were 

 first brought to this country about the year 1S50, and have 

 increased so rapidly and covered our country so thoroughly 

 that there is little Irope of ever getting rid of them, although 

 they are conceded to be nothing but pests and nuisances. It 

 is doubtful if the combined beneficial results of all the 

 English Sparrows in the country amounts to a dollar, but 

 the annual loss caused by their defacing property can hardly 

 be less than a million, and an equally large loss is caused by 

 their driving away other useful birds and destroying their 

 nests. They are prolific beyond measure; a single pair 

 may raise a half dozen broods of not less than six every 

 year. Their nests are stuffed behind blinds or about crevices 

 of buildings or blocks anywhere; sometimes they are in tops 

 of arc lights, in hollow trees, or are large unsightly balls of 

 straw in crotches of trees. They are uncleanly; their voices 

 are harsh and disagreeable; and they are destructive. I 

 never have been able to find a single redeeming trait in them. 



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