358 
The English Sparrow 
were removed to the house of Mr. John Hooper, one of the committee, 
who offered to take care of them during the winter. | 
“In the spring of 1853 they were all let loose in the grounds of Green- \ 
wood Cemetery, and a man hired to watch them. They did well and i 
multiplied, and I have original notes taken from time to time of their 
increase and colonization over our great country.” i; 
This appears to have been only the first of many importations that 3 I 
followed. For example, Colonel William Rhodes of Quebec, Canada, 
introduced Sparrows at Portland, Maine, in 1854. Other men brought il 
some to Peace Dale, Rhode Island, in 1858. In 1860 twelve birds were 
liberated in Madison Square, New York City, and four years later they 3 
were introduced into Central Park. In 1866 two hun- i 
c^nfzed dred were set free in Union Park, New York City. ,r 
Forty pairs were brought to New Haven, Connect!- 
cut, in 1867. Twenty Sparrows were turned loose in Boston Common ( 
in 1868. In 1869 the City Government of Philadelphia brought over 's 
one thousand Sparrows. In the same year twenty pairs were taken to 1 
Cleveland, Ohio, and sixty-six pairs to Cincinnati, and shortly after they j; 
were introduced in San Francisco and elsewhere in the West. 
It will be seen therefore from the above records, which are not at all 1 
complete, that the present population of English Sparrows did not de- ji 
velop in this country from a single importation, as has sometimes been ) 
stated. I 
Not only were they distributed artificially, but the birds also spread il 
rapidly by their own initiative. Their progress was made chiefly along j 
the highways, where the; droppings of horses furnished an abundant 1 
supply of half-digested grain, and along the railroads where the grain- 
cars, particularly in autumn, were continually scattering food. | 
At the present time there are comparatively few communities! in the | 
United States or in southern Canada where the English Sparrow is not 
well-known, and probably it is the most numerous species of bird in 
North America. It is chiefly a bird of the cities and 
A Persistent towns, and is usually not found in abundance in the 
Town-Dweller ^1 t.i 
thinly populated parts of the country. In the autumn, 
however, when the Sparrows are most numerous, owing to recently 
reared broods, many of these birds are naturally forced out of the cities 
and towns in quest of food. 
In no way does the English Sparrow show its fondness for living 
near human habitation more than in its nesting habits. Unlike other 
Sparrows, it rarely if ever constructs its nest in woods, thickets, or fields, 
at any considerable distance from a house. During the breeding season 
the birds swarm in the towns and cities and there, in crevices about build- 
ings, in water-spouts, or in boxes put up for the convenience of other 
birds, it makes its home. The hollows of trees are frequently used for 
this purpose. When such nesting-sites are no longer available, owing to 
overcrowding, they will build rough, bulky, covered nests among the 
