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July 2010

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From:
Liz Marchio <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Liz Marchio <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:06:06 -0700
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In case some of you haven't 
http://ohioperegrinefalcons.blogspot.com/

In case some of you haven't seen this blog- a non-bird nerd showed it to me. 
Very interesting and quite the "reality show".



 

- Liz Marchio

Easy ways to make a change: 
Burn fat not oil- ride a bike. 
Cloth bags for produce.






________________________________
From: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, July 12, 2010 4:23:44 PM
Subject: [Ohio-birds] The utility of house sparrows (long)

From time to time someone on this list wonders about the possible benefits of 
house sparrows. Craig Moore's post about a female eating a Japanese beetle is 
the latest such inquiry.

I'm pretty sure there have been more recent scholarly studies, but the United 
States government, which is to say the Department of Agriculture, pondered this 
issue a century ago, indeed well over a century ago, as the infestation of this 
particular successful and vicious descendant of the dinosaurs had spread across 
the continent.

When Jane and I moved into our rural property, a decade ago this month, I found 
a few items of interest among the unsold boxes of junk left over from the 
previously held estate sale. One such article was Farmers' Bulletin 493 of the 
United States Dept. of Agriculture, titled "The English Sparrow As A Pest." It 
was originally released April 20, 1912 (under the Taft administration) and 
revised 1917 (under the Wilson administration.) It may amuse or appall readers 
of this list to learn that the USDA advocated the mass eradication or trapping 
of house sparrows, and their use as a human food. If these ideas offend you, 
consider yourself forewarned, and please read no further.

Personally, I find this bulletin to be a fascinating glimpse into attitudes of a 
century ago. Although the editorial slant of the work is set forth in the title, 
it is not mere slander, but is supported by some earlier scientific research, 
which it cites. The folly of species "introduction" into new territory is 
evident. This bird has been a problem for a long time.

The introduction sets the tone for the 23-page booklet, and addresses the issue 
of the house sparrow's occasional usefulness as a destroyer of harmful insects.

"An ill-advised endeavor, about the middle of the nineteenth century, to 
populate a few city parks with nonmigratory birds resulted favorably as an 
enterprise but very unfortunately for the general welfare of this country. Among 
several kinds of European birds introduced, one was the house sparrow, commonly 
called the English sparrow. From a few centers this bird has spread in vast 
numbers from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Gulf of Mexico well into 
Canada.
        The English sparrow defiles private and public property, fights and 
dispossesses useful native birds, replaces their songs with discordant sounds, 
and destroys fruit, grain, and garden truck.
        At first it was confined to towns, but its rapid multiplication has 
caused it to push out into farming communities, and thus to extend its 
pernicious activities. The fact that in isolated cases this bird has been found 
doing useful work against insects barely saves it from utter condemnation.
        The methods of ridding premises of English sparrows advocated in this 
bulletin have been used with success and can be relied upon if followed 
carefully and persistently. No one should undertake to kill these birds, 
however, unless able to distinguish them from native sparrows with absolute 
certainty. Otherwise some of the most valued songsters surely will be 
destroyed."

-

Page 4 addresses the consumption of insects directly, and refers to page 143 of 
an earlier "exhaustive account" released by the Division of Economic Ornithology 
and Mammalogy of the USDA in 1889 (under the B. Harrison administration, the 
work presumably having been prepared under the first Cleveland administration), 
a work which I have not read. The earlier work was important enough to have been 
Bulletin No. 1 of that USDA Division.

"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 31 contained insects of little or no 
importance. In the report on the investigation it is shown that, aside from the 
destruction of weed seed, there is, in general, very little to be said in the 
sparrow’s favor."

-

After making its case against Passer domesticus, the bulletin illustrates the 
plans for several types of traps, and to advocate, on pages 21 and 22, the use 
of "English Sparrows As Food."

"In most localities in the United States English sparrows are a pest. There is 
therefore no reason why the birds should not be utilized for food in this 
country, as they have been in the Old World for centuries. Their flesh is 
palatable, and though their bodies are small, their numbers fully compensate for 
their lack of size. Birds that have been trapped may be kept alive in large 
outdoor cages, sheltered from storms and cold winds, until they are wanted for 
the table. It is unprofitable to keep them for long, however, as the quantity of 
grain or other food they require daily amounts to more than half their own 
weight. A variety of food is necessary to keep them in good condition. Bread, 
oats, wheat, bran and corn-meal mash, lettuce cabbage, and tender shoots of 
sprouting grain are some of the things they relish. A supply of clean water is 
essential."

A section on the dressing of the birds is followed with:

"Sparrows may be cooked by any of the methods employed for reedbirds or quail. 
When boned, broiled, buttered, and served on toast they are particularly good 
and compare favorably with the best kinds of small game."

Yum!

I have heard of reports that this species may finally be on the decline in North 
America, however that is not the case on my farm where they infest the eaves and 
corners of the horse barn, and far too often kill nesting bluebirds.

Bob Evans
Geologist, Historian, Curator, Farmer, etc.
Hopewell Township, Muskingum County

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______________________________________________________________________

Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society.
Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list.
Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/.

You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS
Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]

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