May, 1906 | 
THE CHICKADEE AT HOME 
67 
who had just gotten a morsel; and a hopeful expression on the countenance ot the 
third, who is sure to get the next mouthful — the present, the past and the future 
in one scene! (See frontispiece.) 
There are perhaps many other families of chickadees that live and hunt thru 
the trees along Fulton Creek. I rarely visit the place that I do not hear some of 
them. But ever since the seven left the old alder stump, that has now fallen to 
pieces, I never see a flock about this haunt that they do not greet me with the 
same song I heard three years ago: “Chickadee-dee! Chickadee-dee!” 
Portland , Oregon. 
• The English Sparrow in the Southwest 
BY O. W. HOWARD 
S O far as I can learn the English sparrow ( Passer domesticus ) is found in every 
state in the Union, and in most of our large cities they are so common as to 
be considered a plague. 
Why are there no English sparrows in southern California where the climatic 
conditionsiare so mild and inviting? 
My first experience with the English sparrow occurred in December, 1901, 
when I had occasion to visit the town of Bakersfield. I was much surprised to 
find the little fellows feeding on the paved streets in the center of town. I knew 
the sparrows were common in San Francisco and neighboring towns but had no 
idea they had found their way so far south. Later, in the spring of 1902, I found 
the sparrows nesting commonly about the principal buildings of Bakersfield; even 
at the court house they were occupying deserted swallows’ nests. 
In 1903, I again visited Bakersfield several times and found that the sparrows 
had increased considerably. A number of pairs were nesting in cypress trees in 
yards and seemed to take the place of linnets. Late in the fall of the same year 
I chanced to stop at the town of Tehachapi, about 4000 feet elevation, situated at 
the extreme summit of Tehachapi Pass thru which the Southern Pacific railroad 
runs. Here I found the English sparrow in flocks feeding around the railroad 
yard. This was another revelation to me for I took it for granted that Bakersfield 
was their southernmost limit and did not expect to find them at this high altitude. 
The Tehachapi Mountains are considered the natural dividing line between 
northern and southern California, the San Joaquin Valley on the north and the 
Antelope Valley on the south. After finding the sparrows at Tehachapi, I natur- 
ally expected to find them next at the town of Mojave which is located on the edge 
of the desert in Antelope valley and only about twenty-five miles south of Tehach- 
api. I searched several times at the town of Mojave during the year 1903 but 
failed to find a single sparrow. I have not had opportunity to visit that locality 
since 1903, but in the meantime have made some observations in Arizona. 
While located at Tucson, in May, 1904, I was very much surprised one morn- 
ing to see an English sparrow alight within ten feet of me on the principal street 
and at once commence scratching for its favorite food. I saw several other birds 
the same day and later in the season found about half a dozen pairs nesting in the 
switch-board boxes which are placed on telephone poles about twenty-five feet 
