328 THE ENGLISH SPARROW IN AMERICA. 



I fancy the grasshopper- eating liabit lias been acquired since its advent into Ontario. 

 I am not aware of its ever having been noticed before either in Europe or in the 

 United States. 



The first record of this habit was by Mr. Bucke, of Ottawa, in 1881, the nest by 

 Mrs. Maria Gardner, a lady of this city, in 1884. 



The dissections and examinations of stomachs were made with great care, mostly 

 on recently killed birds. 



My thanks are due to many who rendered valuable assistance in these researches. 



In the spring of 1879, Mr. R. Baigent, artist, of this city, reported Sparrows as eat- 

 ing gooseberry buds in his garden. This, if I mistake not, was published at the time 

 in one of the city dailies. 



May 7, 1881. — One specimen collected in city ; contents of stomach, broken down 

 vegetable matter, buds of trees. 



May 7, 1881. — One specimen collected in York Township; contents of stomach, 

 coleoptera, carabid?e, seeds of red clover. 



April 10, 1882. — Five specimens collected in city ; contents of stomach, pickings 

 from horse manure, buds of trees. 



March 24, 1882. — Sparrows eating maple buds on Berkeley street. 



March 25, 1882. — Sparrows eating maple buds all through city. 



April 7, 1884.— Sparrows destroying fruiting buds of maple and elm. 



April 7, 1884. — One specimen collected in York Township by Mr. Williams ; con- 

 tents of stomach, fruiting buds of trees. 



August 20, 1884. — Sparrows pursuing, killing, and eating grasshoppers on Ontario 

 street. By Mrs. Maria Gardner. 



September 1, 1884. — For some days a small flock of Sparrows frequented a dense 

 growth of " pig weed " (Chenopodium album), growing near to my work-room window. 

 In order to determine what they were doing, I carefully closed the shutters, leaving a 

 small ocular. When the birds came readily within a distance of about a yard, with 

 a glass of about teu diameters I quite clearly saw they were eating aphides [plant- 

 lice] with great relish, as though they were treating themselves to a delicious drink. 

 These visits were frequently repeated, affording me many opportunities for observa- 

 tion. 



September 20, 1884. — Twenty specimens collected in York Township by Mr. W. 

 Squires: contents of stomachs, very sharp sand, broken grains of oats, in one, six 

 whole; elderberries, seeds of amaranthus, larvae of geometrid moth three-quarters of 

 an inch long, three larvae in one crop, coleoptera. 



October 31, 1885. — From March 1 to this date two hundred and thirty-seven stom- 

 achs have been examined; one hundred and four, or about forty-three per cent., con- 

 tained insects of several orders. 



Of eighty-five stomachs examined from September 1 to September 30, the season 

 of young birds and also the season of migration from the city, sixty -three, or about 

 seventy-four per cent., contained grasshoppers. 



March 15, 1886. — Sparrows destroying elm buds on Ontario street. By Mrs. Maria 

 Gardner. 



March 20, 1886. — Sparrows destroying fruiting buds of maple and elm trees on 

 Berkeley street. 



March 28, 1886. — Sparrows destroying maple buds on Berkeley street. 



March 29, 1886.— Sparrows eating maple buds on Ontario street. By Mrs. Maria 

 Gardner. 



April 5, 1886. — Sparrows eating elm buds. 



April 12, 1886.— Sparrows eating maple buds on Ontario street. By Mrs. Maria 

 Gardner. 



April 21.— Sparrows eating maple buds on Elizabeth street and Queen's Park. By 

 Mr. W. Parks. 



