32 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



eating their eggs and young, but in most of the Eastern States this bird 

 is rarely seen in towns and villages in summer, and so has little effect 

 on the Sparrow. 



The crow-blackbird or purple graekle (Qu&walutt qidscula) also kills 

 some Sparrows, Mr. Kobert Ridgway states that he ouce saw it en- 

 gaged in eating the young on the Smithsonian grounds; and Mr. Will- 

 iam Brewster, of Cambridge, Mass., states that in one case he saw 

 a graekle follow and kill a Sparrow which had been slightly wounded, 

 and it at once began to eat its victim. Mr. Brewster also states that iu 

 Cambridge the graekles have steadily increased in numbers, while the 

 Sparrows at present do not seem to be increasiug at all; aud he suggests 

 that the two facts may be correlated in some way. 



The sparrow-hawk {FaJco sparverius) and the screech owl (Megascops 

 asio) prey upon Sparrows, and their presence in our parks and about 

 our houses should be encouraged so long as the Sparrows are abundant. 

 Both these birds eat large numbers of insects, and rarely attack native 

 birds. Several other predatory birds, such as the sharp-shinned and 

 Cooper's hawks (Accipiter veloxsmd cooperi) and the pigeon-hawk (Falco 

 columbarius), sometimes feed largely on the Sparrow ; but, as they also 

 destroy many native birds, their protection can not be advised, except 

 under peculiar conditions. 



THE RELATION OF CLIMATE AND FOOD TO THE INCREASE AND SPREAD OF THE 



SPARROW. 



Sparrows thrive at Montreal, Canada, and at Galveston, Tex., but it 

 is nevertheless true that they do not increase as rapidly or as steadily 

 in cold climates as in temperate ones. Scores of observers testify to 

 the fact that Sparrows die in large numbers during very severe win- 

 ters, and this mortality is usually attributed to cold. This, however, 

 is a mistake, for a healthy, well-fed Sparrow can resist, without serious 

 inconvenience, the lowest temperatures ever experienced iu the United 

 States. 



Sparrows are "winter killed'' usually because their customary food 

 is covered by snow, or frozen hard, and they are thus starved to death 

 rather than frozen. This is proved by the fact that small numbers of 

 Sparrows, which have been regularly fed, but not otherwise cared for, 

 have repeatedly survived the severe winters of Minnesota, while hun- 

 dreds of Sparrows have died in places which were much warmer, be- 

 cause they were not fed by man and could not get enough food by their 

 own efforts. No doubt Sparrows thrive best in temperate climates, 

 where the ground is seldom covered by snow for. any length of time; 

 yet, it provided with a good supply of food, they may survive long pe- 

 riods of deep snow and low temperature. 



It will be shown later that the principal source of food supply for 

 city Sparrows is the droppings of grain-fed horses, and this supply is 

 usually as abundant and accessible in winter as in summer. It will be 

 seen at once, however, that with a temperature many degrees below 



