( * ) 
The above paragraph is inserted in italics, on account of its importance 
as the result of fifty years’ observation of Sparrow life, to which, during 
fifteen years, examination of their contents was added,—this by a landed 
proprietor in a locality well suited to observation, and so well known for his 
trustworthy researches that he was examined on the Wild Birds Parlia¬ 
mentary Committee; and his records, together with those of Mr. Gurney and 
two other observers, are officially noted by the U.S.A. Department of Agri¬ 
culture as “ an important European work to be mentioned in connection 
with ‘ the House Sparrow.’ ” 
Much of Col. Russell’s collection of contents of Sparrows was long 
preserved in spirit or preservative medium, in small glass jars, and clearly 
proved the enormous proportion of wheat grains contained. 
With regard to detailed account of amount and nature of the insect 
contents found in stomachs of Sparrows, the official account of the U.S.A. 
Board of Agriculture, prepared under the direction and verification of Dr. 
C. Y. Riley, Entomologist to the Department, gives the fullest information 
of any I am aware of up to date.* 
This report is based on examination of stomach-contents of 522 Sparrows 
by Dr. Hart Merriam, Ornithologist to the U.S.A. Department of Agriculture. 
Of these, which were examined in the Ornithological Division, ninety-two 
alone were found to contain insects. By stomach-contents is included, not 
only what is taken from the crop, but also that taken from the gullet and the 
mouth. Of the above 522 stomachs, 338 of birds killed on ground (avoiding 
roads) near Washington were in many cases examined within an hour or two 
after death; the remaining 184 were sent to Washington in alcohol. 
The report gives first a list of the specimens containing insects, giving 
age of Sparrow (as adult or young), also sex, date of death, locality where 
killed, and name of insects found. This is followed by a very important 
section, which we much need similar details of here, namely, the “Habits 
of the Insects concerned.” In this the insects found are classed under 
heading of the ( scientific ) names of the orders to which they belong, as 
whether beetles, flies, moths and butterflies, or others; with notes of their 
life-history or habits where known, so that it can be told whether the insect 
is injurious or helpful, as, for instance, in the case of a species of Tiphia , of 
which one kind destroys grubs of May-beetles, and Myzine sexcincta , 
of similar habits; of the first of which remains occur in 10 stomachs ; of 
the second, in 30. Also notes are given of presence, presumably unim¬ 
portant, of kinds of which little but the name is known. All of the principal 
orders of insects were represented, namely, Hymenoptera, that is, bees, 
ants, parasite wasps, &c., in 59 stomachs; Coleoptera, beetles, in 53; 
Orthoptera, locusts, &c., in 9; Lepidoptera , as moths and butterflies, in 8 ; 
Hemiptera, as plant-bugs, &c., in 6 ; Neuroptera, as (in this case) some 
stone-flies and Psoci, in 3; and Diptera , as blue-bottle and house-flies, in 2. 
Besides these, Arachnidce, as spiders or parts of spiders, or spider allies, 
were found in 7 stomachs. 
Most of the insects noted were in devoloped, that is, complete, not larval 
or pupal condition; and it is mentioned in the summary that the insects 
taken from the Sparrows were mostly of harmless species. Attention is 
also drawn to the fact that during the year in which most of the birds were 
shot at Washington, the shade-trees there were suffering from insect infesta¬ 
tion ; and of the four different species present, only tivo specimens of one of 
these kinds were found in the Sparrows’ stomachs investigated. 
Many other records of observation, both American and British, are given 
in the ‘ Bulletin,’ and one of the concluding sentences of Dr. Riley’s Report 
is :—“ Finally, the examinations taken as a whole show how thoroughly 
graminivorous or vegetarian the Sparrow is as a rule.” 
* See ‘ Imectivorous Habits of the English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), by 
C. V. Riley, Ph.D.’ From Bulletin No. I., Div. of Ornithology and Mammalogy, 
Dept, of Agriculture, entitled, “ The English Sparrow in America.” 
