THE HOUSE SPARROW

Lake County Mail, Issue 20, 8 October 1947, Page 3

THE HOUSE SPARROW

More Vices Than Virtues

The sparrow abounds in New Zealand in such large numbers that the following article by F. Howard Lancum, taken from Agriculture, the journal of the British Ministry of Agriculture, is of particular interest to our farmers: — Although not in the same class as the rook, the house sparrow has long been the subject of controversy. It is a noisy, intelligent, adaptable and enterprising bird. It never strays far from human habitations, and where there are houses, farms and gardens, there usually will be found the house sparrow. In London and other large cities this bird seems to have developed a gamin cunning which enables it to live and even thrive in conditions that would defeat most species. The house sparrow has many enemies and almost as many champions and apologists. The latter, in the main, base their defence of the bird on the statement that, especially during the breeding season, it takes many insect pests and in fact feeds its young almost entirely on insect food. That is true; but whether the good the bird does in this way compensates for the harm it does in other ways is more than doubtful. Damage to Cereals The principal charges against the house sparrow are that at harvest time it docs serious damage to wheat and other cereals; that in the spring it ea'ts or damages many kinds of young garden vegetables just showing above the soil, and digs up newly-sown seeds; that it strips currant, gooseberry and other bushes of their buds; that it causes annoyance by blocking rainwater pipes with its nests and damage by making holes in thatch for nesting purposes. I would add to its misdemeanours the robbing of useful house martins of their nests, and I have in mind a farmhouse in Devon where, out of 18 new house martins’ nests, 11 had been commandeered by sparrows. All these charges can be proved. As to corn, I have heard it suggested that sparrows take only waste grain that would not otherwise be gathered. This is not true. Sparrows do, of course, pick up quantities of waste grain, but just before harvest time cornfields all over the country are visited by flocks of these birds, and often 1 have seen parts of fields of ripening wheat literally borne down by their weight. A few years ago, in Berkshire, I saw half an acre of wheat that had been entirely stripped by sparrows. Such things have been observed by many other people in many parts of the country, and it is futile to deny them. As to garden produce, few readers will need telling what sparrows can do to young green crops, seeds, etc. A citation of the house sparrow’s misdeeds should, in common fairness, be accompanied by mention of such virtue as it possesses, and it is a fact that this bird does destroy harmful caterpillars and insects of various kinds, beetles, crane flies, aphides and others, and that it also eats quantities of weed seeds. In tree fruit growing districts sparrows do little if any harm; it is probable that they do some good. But on farm and garden laud the position is very different, and there is, I fear, no doubt that on balance the species is well on the harmful side. Cheeky Impudence As already mentioned the house sparrow is an intelligent bird, wary and well able to take care of itself in most circumstances. I do not know what the experience of other naturalists has been, but many years ago I discovered, rather to my surprise, that the house sparrow was oue of the most dillicult of all our birds to photograph at or near its nest. In spite of its bad habits it is easy to understand why many people like the bird. It ha& a

cheeky impudence that, I think, is unparalleled by any other British bird. 1 confess, too, that the tricks of the species have given me a good deal of amusement. At the time of writing (early July), two house sparrows’ nests arc being built in separate trees in a nearby garden. The pair of birds responsible for the nearer nest have come upon a labour-saving discovery of some consequence, which is that a mass of rcady-to-hand material, all in one place, is better than a mass that has to be collected piecemeal from here, there and everywhere. Most regrettably, the rcady-to-hand material in this case is the partly-built nest of the other pair of sparrows, who, if they are as intelligent as sparrows generally appear to be, must be sorely puzzled by the slowness of their own progress. This sinful game has been played for some days, and it is surprising that the victims have not yet realised what is going on, although it is true that the repeated thefts are carried out with circumspection and a cunning remarkable even in house sparrows. But it seems to me that, sooner or later, one of the robbers must be caught red-handed, and when that happens I hope I am there to see it. Living Close to Man But, apart from all this, I adhere to my opinion that, viewing the activities as a whole, the house sparrow must be regarded as a harmful bird. It is true that it must be considered in relation to the type of country in which it is found, and that it must necessarily do less harm in some types of country than in others. At the same time it must be pointed out that its habit of frequenting the neighbourhood of human dwellings means that it is particularly well placed to attack crops of rdl kinds. Were it really true that the house sparrow feeds mainly on insects all the year round (as some of its supporters have asserted) it may reasonably be asked why; hi that case, it is seldom found in other localities where it can be assumed that insect food is just as plentiful. The probable inference is that it prefers farm and other cultivated areas because it is in such places that crops are grown and that cultivated vegetables are, at most seasons of the year, its favourite food. Further, all the reliable investigations that have so far been carried out show that t he house sparrow, taking the whole year through, does more harm than good, and there can be no doubt that its numbers need to be kept in check. Sparrow Population Control In those districts where it is considered necessary to reduce the sparrow population, I would stress as strongly as possible the need for the destructive measures to be undertaken by people who know what they are doing. Care also should be taken to see that any sparrows destroyed are killed humanely. Children should never be encouraged to destroy birds of any kind, whether harmful or otherwise, or to take eggs or nests. For myself, I disagree with the idea of sparrow clubs, once so common in the countryside, since, even with the best intentions, there are grave risks of other (and possibly useful) birds being destroyed with the sparrows. In certain parts of the country, in the old days, I have seen some bags of alleged “ sparrows ” that distressed me considerably. Sparrow killing should be left to, experts, and even so I would not advocate destruction if preventive measures could be devised. The trouble is that, so far as I am aware, in places where sparrows are abundant nobody has yet come upon a really effective method of keeping them away from crops. ’