106 



THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



Table showing, by months, the number and percentages of Sparrows containing insects, in a 



total of 522 dissections. 



• 



d 



ft" 



a 



o 



tic 

 p 



13 



o5 

 o 



O 

 H 



O 



05 



(3 



o 

 H 



© 



Oj 



.s 



O 



H 



tn 



3.2 



u 



Jan nary: 





 





 





 



1 







11 



5 



43 

 12 



37 

 6 



213 

 53 



29 



1 







2 

 



1 







2 

 



17 

 



21 



] 



'24 

 1 



10 

 1 



4 



1 



24 

 3 



20 



7 



15 

 



24 

 



15 

 



8 

 



2 

 17 

 21 

 25 

 21 

 47 

 61 

 233 

 44 

 25 

 17 

 9 











 " 



o 



February : 







o 



March : 







1 



4.8 



April : 







1 



4. 



May: 





Contained insects 



June: 



6 



28.6 





13 



27.7 



July : 







9 



14.8 



August: 







60 



25.8 









2 



4.5 



October : 









 "*0 

















December : 



















Totals 







522 



92 



17.6 











These results, unsatisfactory as they are, show conclusively that be- 

 fore any general rule can be laid clown respecting the insect food of the 

 Sparrow in its relation to season, it will be necessary to examine much 

 larger numbers of stomachs, and to note particularly, in addition to the 

 date and locality, such facts as the age of the bird, the time of day when 

 killed, the character of the place where killed, as well as the apparent 

 abundance or scarcity of food of any particular kind. 



Among the five hundred and ninety-one reports which are not based 

 on dissection, probably there are one hundred and fifty or more which 

 have been carefully prepared, give the results of actual observation, 

 and hence contain valuable information. 



In Professor Riley's report will be found a list of some of the most 

 valuable and suggestive of these contributions, which should be read in 

 full in order to appreciate the facts. At least two-thirds of them con- 

 tain facts more or less favorable to the Sparrow, but, as stated already, 

 these are readily accounted for when all the circumstances are known. 



