BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
241 
of eyes and spreading backwards to sides of neck; lesser wing-coverts bright 
chestnut. 
Female .—Duller colored and lacking the black on chin and throat; pale brown 
stripe back of eyes ; bill dark-brown, lower mandible yellowish at base. 
Young .—Very similar to female but male often recognizable by a few black patches 
on throat and chin. 
Habitat. —Europe, etc. Introduced about twenty years ago into the United States, 
where it has become naturalized in nearly all inhabited districts. 
Abundant resident about buildings. Nests in bird boxes, holes in 
j trees, on branches of trees, in vines and in various places about houses 
I and other buildings. The nest is composed of dried grasses, pieces of 
j string, etc., lined with an abundance of feathers. The dull-whitish eggs, 
l from four to seven in number, are thickly spotted and streaked with 
j different shades of brown. They measure about .90 by .62 of an inch. 
In this locality at least two, and probably more, broods are reared in a 
season. The English Sparrow, as this species is commonly known 
throughout the United States, is universally despised by farmers, fruit¬ 
growers and naturalists because of its pernicious habits. In the spring 
it feeds largely on the buds of fruit trees, bushes and vines, chief among 
which may be mentioned the pear, apple, peach, plum, cherry, currant 
i and grape. Different garden products, such as lettuce, beans, peas, 
cabbage, berries, pears, apples and grapes are greedily fed upon. The 
sparrow greatly damages the corn crop, tearing open the husks, devour¬ 
ing the tender part of the ear and exposing the remainder to the ravages 
of insects and to atmospheric changes. It alights on fields of wheat, 
oats and barley, consuming a large quantity, and, by swaying to and fro 
on the slender stalks and flapping its wings, showers the remainder on 
the ground. In addition to a much varied vegetable diet, the sparrow 
has been known to kill and devour the young of other small birds. Our 
native song and insectivorous birds, viz: the Bobin, Bluebird, Wren } 
Chippy, Song Sparrow, Eed-eyed Vireo and some few others, which 
were formerly plentiful residents in our lawns, parks and gardens, have 
rapidly and steadily diminished since the hosts of pugnacious sparrows 
have appeared. This species is more or less gregarious at all seasons 
of the year. When not engaged in rearing their young they are always 
observed in flocks. In the late summer and autumn they assemble in 
flocks of hundreds and daily repair to the wheat and cornfields in the 
vicinity of cities and towns, where they commit serious depredations, 
that are only checked by harvesting the crops. In 1883 the members 
of the West Chester Microscopical Society, and several farmers’ clubs 
of Chester, Delaware and Lancaster counties, recognizing the great 
injury which was being done by this feathered pest, passed resolutions 
and petitioned our Legislature, then in session, to repeal that portion 
of the act of Assembly which made it a misdemeanor to kill the English 
Sparrow. Through the prompt and energetic efforts of Senators A. D. 
Harlan, of Chester county, Thomas V. Cooper, of Delaware county, and 
16 Birds. 
