THE RELATION OF SPARROWS TO AGRICULTURE. 



INTRODUCTION. 



IMPORTANCE OF SPARROWS. 



The native sparrows are the most abundant and widely distributed 

 of the small birds inhabiting the rural districts of the United States. 

 Wherever there are farms these characteristic little birds may be 

 found nesting in orchard, berry patch, vineyard, or hedgerow, en- 

 livening the shrubbery from door3^ard to outlying field with their 

 songs, or in winter rising from the ground and fluttering from bush 

 to bush before one who invades their haunts. As a group they are 

 constantly present on cultivated land, although manj^ of them retire to 

 the South during the winter and their places are taken bj^ other species 

 from the North. 



Sparrows are well known, and have figured frequently in ornitho- 

 logical literature, but the position the}- occup}^ in relation to agricul- 

 ture has heretofore received only casual consideration. It is evident 

 that a group of birds so abundant, so widelj' distributed, and in such 

 constant association with farms and gardens must play an important 

 part in rural economy, and that a thorough investigation of theii 

 food habits should be useful. The results of such an investigation 

 are embodied in the present paper and amply demonstrate the value 

 of these birds to the agriculturist — a value greater than that of any 

 other group of birds whose economic status has thus far been investi- 

 gated. The native sparrows contrast markedly in this respect with 

 the introduced English sparrow, the pernicious habits of which have 

 formed the subject of a special report,^ and are briefly treated in this 

 bulletin for purposes of comparison (see p. 92). This naturalized 

 sparrow is a pest wherever it is found, while the native sparrows are 

 well worthy of protection and encouragement. 



CONSTITUENTS OF FOOD. 



The great bulk of the food of sparrows and other small passerine 

 (or perching) birds consists of fruit, seeds, and insects. The fruit 

 may be wild berries taken from shrubs or trees of no economic impor- 

 tance, with little economic result whether the bird eats much or little; 

 or it ma}^ be cultivated fruit, in which case, of course, it is desirable 

 to know the amount destroyed. 



^ The English Sparrow in North America, Bull. No. 1 , Div. Ornith. andMamm., 1889. 



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