LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY, Washington, D. C., February 20, 1912. SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith and to recommend for publication as a Farmers' Bulletin a report entitled "The English Sparrow as a Pest," by Ned Dearborn, assistant in the Biological Survey, which is designed to supersede No. 383 of the same series. Introduced into America only about 60 years ago, the English sparrow in this comparatively short period has overspread most of the United States and has extended its range even into southern Canada. The bird has many objectionable habits and few redeeming qualities and, as its general extermination is out of the question because of the necessary expense, its numbers should be reduced so far as possible. The chief aim of the present bulletin is to describe the best methods of effecting this reduction of numbers. Trapping, wherever practicable, is recommended above all other methods, more particularly as English sparrows form an excellent and nutritious article of diet. Respectfully, Hon. JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture. HENRY W. HENSHAW, Chief, Biological Survey. 493 2 15. Diagram for cutting out the parts of a funnel trap 36 by 18 by 12 inches. 16. Diagram for cutting out the parts of a funnel trap 48 by 24 by 15 inches.. 21 THE ENGLISH SPARROW AS A PEST. INTRODUCTION. DISTRIBUTION. The English sparrow was introduced into America a little more than 60 years ago, and is now distributed over nearly all of the United States and southern Canada. This rapid dissemination is a result of the bird's hardiness, extraordinary fecundity, diversity of food, aggressive disposition, and almost complete immunity from natural enemies. ECONOMIC STATUS. The English sparrow among birds, like the rat among mammals, is cunning, destructive, and filthy.. Its natural diet consists of seeds, but it eats a great variety of other foods. While much of its fare consists of waste material from the streets, in autumn and winter it consumes quantities of weed seed and in summer numerous insects. The destruction of weed seed should undeniably count in the sparrow's favor. Its record as to insects in most localities is not so clear. In exceptional cases it has been found very useful as a destroyer of insect pests. For example, during a recent investigation by this bureau of birds that destroy the alfalfa weevil in northern Utah, English sparrows were feeding their nestlings largely on weevil larvæ and cutworms, both of which are very injurious to alfalfa. In this case the sparrows, attracted by grain in the fields and poultry runs and by the excellent nest sites afforded by the thatched roofs of many farm buildings, had left the city and taken up their abode in the country where the weevil outbreak subsequently occurred. Unfortunately, however, farmers can rarely expect such aid against their insect foes. Wherever this bird proves useful, however, it is entitled to protection and encouragement in proportion to its net value. Under normal conditions its choice of insects is often unfavorable. Out of 522 English sparrow stomachs examined by the Biological Survey, 47 contained noxious insects, 50 held beneficial insects, and 1U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy, Bulletin 1, The English Sparrow in North America, p. 143, 1889. An exhaustive account now out of print. |