68o 



BIRDS IN THE GARDEN. 



to be thrown out of the nests and killed. If this were 

 the worst of their attacks, we could still find some ex- 

 cuse for the sparrow ; but they have been repeatedly 

 found in the act of destroying, not only the nests, but 

 the eggs and young birds of other species, with no other 

 purpose than to exclude them from the neighborhood. 

 True, the English sparrow has been seen living on 

 friendly terms with native birds, and even nesting side 

 by side with them, but as the sparrows increase in 

 numbers, they become more quarrelsome. As yet, the 

 greatest amount of injury is done around cities and 

 towns, but as the sparrows increase and migrate into the 

 country, they are sure to take with them the same dis- 

 tructive habits and ugly disposition. There are people 

 in America to-day who are staunch friends of the spar- 

 rows, but usually such people live in a locality where 

 the sparrows have not yet become a pest." 



Michigan has a law which offers a bounty for spar- 

 rows' heads, but Mr. Cook shows that this law is of 

 doubtful utility, if not of positive mischief. Many of 

 the town clerks, who receive the heads, cannot distin- 

 guish the English sparrow from several other native 

 birds. "As a result, a great many birds that have been 

 sent in for a bounty are our most beneficial birds. 

 Thus many heads have been sent to this station on 

 which bounty was claimed, of such valuable birds as the 

 song sparrow, red-polled linnet and evening grosbeak ; 

 birds that our laws protect by a fine of five dollars 

 against their slaughter. We have a good law against 

 destroying native birds, and every person presenting 

 such a bird to the town clerk's office should pay the 

 penalty, which is a fine of five dollars." 



An important point in the designation of these birds 

 is the fact that there is no bright red or crimson on the 

 top of the head of an English sparrow. This subject 

 is so important that Mr. Cook's full description of the 

 pestiferous sparrow is transcribed : 



' ' The bill is very stout, with its upper and lower lines 

 curved. In the male the upper parts are ashy gray, 

 while the middle of the back is streaked with bay and 

 black. The lesser wing coverts — the short feathers at 

 the base of the wings — are chestnut. The greater 



wing coverts are mostly black, though each black 

 featlv?r is bordered with chestnut. At the base of 

 the large wing coverts is a white wing bar nearly an 

 inch long. The lower parts are ashy white, with the 

 throat black, the latter bordered on either side by lead- 

 color, which extends to the eye. A conspicuous reddish 

 brown stripe extends backward from the eye, separat- 

 ing the gray of the top of the head from that of the 

 cheek. This broadens as it runs back, so that at the 

 base of the neck it forms a dorsal band which extends 

 well down towards the back of the throat, between it 

 and which the gray color is very light — nearly white. 

 In some cases the reddish brown does not meet above 

 at the base of the neck. 



" The coloration of the female is less definite. The 

 head is brownish gray, becoming lighter on the throat. 

 The back is marked much as in the male, with the 

 chestnut varying to a yellowish brown. The breast 

 varies from an ashy to a yellowish or dirty white. The 

 young male is like the female. The length of both 

 sexes — from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail — 

 varies from six to seven inches. 



"Head of Males. — The bill is always robust and black. 

 The crown — very top of the head — is ash colored. The 

 throat is black, bordered on either side by ashy white ; 

 the cheeks also are ashy white. The region between 

 the eyes and bill is black ; a white line separates the 

 black in front of the eyes from the ashy gray of the 

 crown ; above, and extending back of the eye, is a red- 

 dish brown stripe, which reaches nearly to the shoulder. 



"Head of Female. — In the female the bill is slightly 

 more slender, the color yellowish gray ; the crown of 

 the head always solid brownish gray, one color only, 

 which point distinguishes it from the native sparrows 

 of Michigan. The throat varies, but is usually ashy 

 or grayish white." 



This is the first Experiment Station Bulletin to deal 

 with the English sparrow, and its advice should be 

 heeded. The sparrow is a dangerous enemy, and every 

 man's hand should be against it. But every man should 

 be able to identify it. The accompanying illustration 

 (on page 679) will aid in distinguishing the bird. 



