New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-03-11
THE SPARROW.

Only few years ago there was great rejoicing
in this city over the introduction Of the English
sparrows. A small number had been brought
hither and set at liberty in Central Park. This
experiment, unlike many previous ones In nc
climatization, was n complete success. The
sparrow won his way to the popular heart.
Bread-crumbs were sprinkled in front of brown
stone mansions with persistent prodigality, day
after day, and the leafless shade trees of our
city were adorned with triumphs of the carpen-
tcr's art holding out inducements for nest
building to the little brown birds. 1t must be
admitted that the gcometric measurinS-worm
no longer lets himself down by thread, to
alight on the coatcolar of the passing Dcdes-
TRAN. The sparrow has accomplished all that
was fairly to he expected. But now, from all
parts of the country. and especially from all
people who study natural history. comes an
cutlery against the English bird.
The indictment Is heavy one. I'm Europe,
| the ornthologists say, the sparrow Is accounted
n pest. He has changed his sky, but not his
mind lie is born fighter, and out of sheer
pugnacity makes all other small birds I'M
comfortable, and is driving them away. Quite
recently the Nuttall Ornithoogical Club, of
Cambridge. Mass, devoted q meeting To the
question Of the merits of the sparrow. That
club contains many eminent naturalists, but in
order to insure full discussion of the subject,
correspondence had been invited from leading
authorities on birds in different parts Of the
country The sparrow was fully tried before
the club; all that could be said in favor of
the bird was duly alleged. But the evidence
on the other side was overwhelming. The
club records unanimous verdict against the
sparrow All authorities agree that the native
birdS-some of which could sing, and others,
such as the wren, were insect catcrs-have
ceased 10 frequent the localities which the
| English sparrow has invaded. Thus, the song
sparrows, the snow-birds and the blue-birds
| have been driven out of the Smithsonian
grounds at Washington, and the chattcring
| foreigners have taken Their place. Fifty
spcces of birds that used 10 visit the Com
mon and Public Garden, now come no more
among them were fifteen or twenty species
| that made Boston their SUMNER residence.
! Before the advent of the sparrow, the tend
cncy of wild birds to settle and domestlcate
themselves in our city parks was gradually
| increasing. But the sparrows fight in COM
bination, and mob the orioles, robins. martins,
! ana even INC NoouI"ChHI. III. Apbott, vi
| Trenton, declares that the sparrow is camiy-
orous, dcyouring the eggs and young OF other
| birds. And even if all these incidents can be
set aside rs exceptional, the fact remains that
the sparrow, staying in town through the
| Winter, holds possession of the nests in the
! Spring and keeps other birds away.
There is even doubt as To tho sparrow's
virtues as On insect killer. Worms, rs well rs
sun spots and money pancs, have their cycles
when they wax and wanc. 1t has been sug-
| gested that perhaps the sparrow had the
good luck to arrive here just as Il worm-cyce
was about TO approach its minimum. At all
events, the caterpillar of the tuss0ck moth is now
becoming abundant III our shade trees,
and is little cared for, if at all, by the
| sparrow. The evidence that fruit-buds and
grain are eaten by the sparrow in pref
| crcnce to insects, can hardly be gainsaid
| Perhaps the most remarkable testimony on
this point is that of medical practitioner,
who performed with the knife on forty spar
rows in the insect season, and found that the
| birds had swallowed grain, oats and seeds of
various kinds, but had not fed upon insects in
a single instance. Furthermore. say the olni-
| biologists, as weu as some of our citizens, the
| sparrow is an unclcanly bird. 1t is recon-
mendcd that all restrictions upon shooting,
trapping or otherwise getting rid of sparrows,
| be now Withdrawn for a year or two, as they
are at intervals in England. There certainly
is no danger of DISCRIMINATING thcse birds now
and in the suburbs and the fields they are
fast becoming an intolerable nuisance.
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