130 Estabrook, The English Sparrow Problem. [April 
seen to eat all forms of the moth, but that the bird itself is more 
injurious than beneficial inasmuch as the sparrow drives away 
the native birds which would hold the pest in check. Dr. Elliott 
Coues made, in 1880, an urgent appeal to the people to exterminate 
the English Sparrow for the following reasons. 
1 . They do not perform the work for which they were imported. 
2. They attack, harass, fight, drive away, and kill native birds, 
much more insectivorous than themselves. 
In 1889 the United States Department of Agriculture published 
a 400-page volume on the English Sparrow in America. This 
work takes up the economic status of the English Sparrow, its 
food relations, and its behavior with other birds. An amazing 
amount of evidence against the sparrow is gathered here and the 
author of the bulletin advises the extermination of the sparrow all 
over the United States. 
In April, 1906, the following questionnaire was printed in these 
publications; ‘The Auk,’ ‘Bird-Lore,’ ‘American Bird Magazine,’ 
‘The Oologist,’ and ‘Maine Sportsman.’ 
Circular of Inquiry with Reference to the Present Status of the English 
Sparrow Problem in America. 
1. Are you familiar with Bulletin No. 1, The English Sparrow in 
America, published by the Agricultural Department in 1889; and do you 
agree with the facts there presented and with its conclusions? 
2. Are English Sparrows present in your locality? If so, are they 
increasing or decreasing in numbers? 
3. What is being done with you to exterminate them? Please outline 
methods which you deem effective. 
4. What influence have you observed the English Sparrow to have 
upon native birds? 
5. Would public opinion in your locality favor the adoption of effective 
measures to exterminate the species? 
6. Please state the facts and arguments, pro and con, which decide 
this problem in your own mind. Please send replies as early as possible — 
before June 1 — to the undersigned. It is hoped to gather a consensus 
of opinion from all parts of this Country and Canada. The data will be 
published as soon as possible. 
Signed, 
March 5, 1906. A. H. Estabrook, 
Clark University, Worcester, Mass. 
From this questionnaire and from letters sent out by me per- 
sonally, I have received about eighty answers. I also wrote to all 
