Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-08-09
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceDeU.
ALEXANDRIA. Va

dear Sir.
One of the greatest pleasures that I
enjoy is watching the birds as they f1y
to and from the bird bath in my yard.
I could sit and watch them for hours.
Last week, my father and made a
discovery and We v wonder II any one else
/ saAn through sthe, years. the English
sparrow has been rated as one of the
biggest pests among the birds. No one
has paid much attention as to what
these birds have been doing since the
new era OF the Japanese beetle.
Every one knows what battle 1t Is
to save the plants, flowers and trees
from that Internal pest, the japanese
beetle
II wonder has any one else noticed
the new ally in our battle against them?
II SO, there has been no recognition or
acknowledgment of it.
Among the many birds that f1y the
universe or at least among those that
ny here in America and feed upon the
insects, not one has consumed the JAP
anese beetle as has our most unappre-
ciated little friends, the English SPAR
rows
All through the course of the dav.
these birds are busily engaged in catch.
ing food for their young. Most of that
food is made up of beetles. Yes, jap
anese beetles, those insects that invade
our yards, cluster around some young
tree or shrub and finally consume parts
of it.
Just in one yard, the destruction of
the beetle is great. A new bud, delicate
as 1t Is, has no protection from one
beetle, let alone the hordes that close
IN on one bush.
I have observed the English sparrow
as 1t flies from one bush to another.
catching them on the wing. The hard
shell of the back has to be pecked to
pieces before being given to the young.
Our battle with the japanese beetles
has not yielded one-third the amount
per day as the number eaten by the
sparrows
80 l say-recognize the new power
over the beetle when you are about to
shoo the, sparrow away. Remember
tnelr daily work and give hearty
cheer-to the English sparrow!
Sincerely, M. B."
The fact that English sparrows eat
Japanese beetles has been noted by
many correspondents here this spring
and summer
Reports also have been published here
OF the beetles being consumed bv
thrashers, starlings and f1ickers.
The taste for the insects seems to he
growing, too, and no doubt many other
species in time will take to them. as
they watch the sparrows and others feed
upon them.
mere are so many English sparrows
That they set good examples to the other
BIRDS whose sharp little eyes miss moth
ing That is going on around them.
1t has been reported to this column
that 1t is the female English sparrow.
rather than the male, which does most
OF the eating of Jap beetles. We have
not been able to check on this. but it
may be true. And then again the OBJ
server just might have happened to see
the female sparrows and not the males
eat the beetles. There is no reason whv
the males should not like Japanese
beetles as we'll as their mates, except
That the females Of all species are the
more adventursome when it comes to
food
Ihls applies to the human Species too!
II sparrows could talk, one female
would be heard saying to another, "Oh,
my dear, have you tried these new
Japanese beetles? They are simply de-
!lc1ous. I eat them between bits of
bread" The other would reply, "Oh,
yes, my dear, but have you tried them
with raisins? They are simply marvel
Gus, really" These wise birds would
reveal that they lived in a yard where
bird feeding was carried on, and where
the folks threw out raisins and bread
daily.
English sparrows tackle and eat many
hard-shelled beetles which other birds
leave alone. -