Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1900-08-01
other small mammals, and much carrion

otneE sInhit tnamfnhis, ana muen Chtriou
matter.
ENGLISH SPARROW.
This bird, well known to all, 10 COM
mon throughout the State, thanks (f) to
the ill-advised enthusiasm OF the parties
who thought they were doing the country
. favor In importing this bird as . sure
panacea for ell the insect pests of the
into Maine, at Portland, In the early
ffties, the sparrow hosts have increased
to millions.
From careful study OF the birds and
their habits and diet during a number
OF years, the author has been enabled to
form conclusions which are concordant
with those OF other observers. During
the winter the food Of the English spar
row consists almost entirely of undigest-
ed grain CLEANED from horse droppings,
eked out by scraps Of food thrown out by
numerous kindly hands, and grain
spilled from the nose bags OF horses
which happen to be fed In the public
market places. These same things con-
tinue to be the maiDstay Of the tribe for
the entire year. In the spring they add
q few insects to their bill of fare, but
these consist almost entirely of such
bugs, moths and beetles as are attracted
to the electric lights Of the cities and
rendered incapable Of doing any more
harm. In the late summer, when the
wheat, oats, and other grains are ripening
In the fields, few miles out Of the cities,
the author has seen focks Of hundreds
of these birds feeding on the ripe grain.
As these birds are found in the vicinity
OF many farmhouses along weli-travelled
roads, and In every small settlement, it
will be seen that they can easily do con-
siderable damage to grain.
They nest in the cornices and cutters
| OF buildings, in any accessible holes and
crevices, and In the Ivy and woodbine
covering the the walls OF churches and
other buildings. Their large nests OF
| hay are uusightly structures, the breed
| ing place OF lice and other vermin as
we'll as young sparrows, and the ex-
1 crement which is literally distributed
serves to render the foliage unsightly.
| The nnceasing and discordant chatter
| OF The birds outside OF the vine-covered
! churches is not the plcasantest sound to
hear, especially when trying to become
interested In the sermon, though OF
! course the birds are not to blame for this.
They are pugnacions In disposition, and
| drive many OF our native birds to seek
other homes. There is plenty OF evidence
| to prove this, and evidence that they
! sometimes do not interfere with other
! birds proves nothing. The martin houses
are seized upon by the sparrows, and on
the return OF the martins in tue spring
/ they either have to fight for possession or
retire from the field. Other birds nest
| ing in bird houses are dispossessed in u
| similar manner.
| In June, 1899, when the tent caterpiiiars
| were laying waste to the foliage Of the
city trees aud crawling everywhere over
| the walls OF houses, sparrows were seen
| leaving their nests, which had numerous
| caterpiIiars crawling over and about them,
/ to deive for treasure trove III the savory
deposits OF the nearby street.
| In the late fail sparrows have been
observed feeding on the seed Of knot
| grass and there is no doubt hat they do a
| little good by destroying the seed OF this
| they do would be done by many OF our
| native birds with less than half the fuss,
| buster and Importance assumed by the
| English sparrow.