121 



90. P. LAPPONICUS. Selby. Lapland Longspur. Male with head and 

 throat mostly black ; a chestnut collar ; back black and streaky, whitish below ; 

 bill longer than in nivalis, without ruff; female and winter birds with less black ; 

 L. 6)^ ; W, 4 ; T. 2^. Abundant winter resident in the prairies north ; in strag- 

 gling flocks. October to May. Some remain until April 15, and are found in 

 breeding plumage, {A^elson.) 



91. P. PICTUS, Swainson. Painted Longspur. Male with head and upper 

 parts mostly black ; collar and upper parts rich fawn color ; legs pale ; female 

 duller. Nelson observed this species as a common migrant on the borders of Lake 

 county, Ind., where even seventy-five were seen in a flock. 



8. PASSER. Brisson. House Sparrows. 



92. P. DOMESTICUS. Linnseus. English Span-ow. Male chestnut brown 

 above, thickly streaked ; ashy below ; throat, lores and chin black ; female duller 

 without black ; feet small; length 6 inches; wing 21^; tail 2^. Introduced from 

 Europe; abundant in cities, and now also in suburbs. Cosmopolite; found in 

 North Africa, the Levant, Hindoostan, and Europe. Introduced in Portland, Me., 

 in 1858, six birds only. Various parties brought over lots of a dozen or so, releas- 

 ing them in various eastern cities. The council of Boston took two hundred from 

 Germany in 1868 All died but twenty ; these increased to one hundred and fifty 

 the following summer ; were fed at the public charge, and finally stocked the city. 

 {" Bostonese Idiocy," as Dr. Coues calls it.) 



Philadelphia imported one thousand in good condition in 1869. These scattered 

 about, some as far as Morristown. Their exploits in stripping cherry trees of their 

 bloom were not favorably welcomed. {Brewer.) 



At this time the shade trees in the cities of New York, Brooklyn and Philadel- 

 phia were infested with the larvae of measure-worms, which destroyed the foliage. 

 Since their introduction the worms have almost entirely disappeared. [Brewer, 

 History of N. Am. Birds.) 



In my judgment the shade trees of Indianapolis (as thrifty and clean as the aver 

 age in city streets, and furnishing but a poor field for the entomologist) are pre- 

 served from the bark-borers by these birds, which kill the insects while on or near 

 the trees. At least in Chicago suburbs the same tree, the soft maple [Acer dasycar- 

 pum), is infested and often destroyed by worms. The English sparrow was intro- 

 duced to Indianapolis in 1874, mainly, I understand, through the influence of Dr. 

 H, Carey. Few boxes are placed for them now, and in many yards the nests are 

 ■destroyed as soon as made. They are extending to the suburbs, but are not on the 

 increase in the city. There is much complaint on account of the litter they make 

 about dwellings. They fill up water troughs and make the water dirty. They 

 keep other birds away more by eating their food than by fighting them. 



It is not to be expected that robins, thrushes, catbirds, etc., whose young eat 

 forty per cent, more than their own weight daily of grubs and worms, will nest 

 freely in a large city where such food can not be procured, yet they nest occasion- 

 ally about the city yards and parks. I have counted twelve species of native 

 birds about University Park (centrally located) during a summer day. 



The persistent enemies of the English sparrow are Dr. Coues and Mr. Gentry, 

 who, through the Natural History Serials and in their own works, have consist- 

 ently opposed the bird from the first. Mr. Gentry's book of nearly two hundred 

 pages is a complete repository of knowledge regarding this species. The book is 



