Old World Sparrows & Related \\7eavers (Passer and Petronia) byJosefLindholm. 11/ Keeper/Birds Fort Worth Zoological Park f the various emotions engen­ have been so successful that, during a (where a man was "hired to watch Odered by birds, hatred is not four-day visit to the city, I did not see a them") in 1853 (Ibid. 1966). The next usually the first that comes to mind. single sparrow nor any other wild three decades are one of the sorriest The genus Passer, however, includes bird." Dr. Travnicek (1986) notes, "As episodes in American aviculture. As two species which became objects of communication and dialect are two of George Laycock (1966), in a detailed violent animosity. China's great and current problems, in essay, relates, "For a decade or more, During the tumultuous Cultural the people's confusion and zeal to European bird dealers were con­ Revolution of the People's Republic of please their beloved Chairman, many fronted with eager Americans who China in the 1960s and '70s, along wild birds were destroyed." It appears came with faith, hope and money, with wall posters and protest signs there was a corresponding rise in determined to purchase Europe's advocating the downfall of Burgoise insect pests, whose depredations on songbirds as their contributions to Capitalism and Yankee Imperialist agriculture were worse than that of bringing beauty to the new world." A Hegemony, there were often ones their former predators. At any rate, typical case cited by Laycock (1966) exhorting The People to "kill rats, Chinese ornithologists now appear to was a Mr. L.H. Smith of Strathroy, flies, and sparrows!" Of course, spar­ be having some success with "Love Ontario, who, in 1874, was sent six rows were one of the "seven plagues" the Bird" campaigns. pairs of House Sparrows by a "New identified by the Great Helmsman The targets of all this proletarian York bird dealer" who charged the himself, Chairman Mao (Travnicek wrath were Tree Sparrows Passer then extravagant sum of one dollar 1986) which enabled one to demon­ montanus. This species, which in pre­ per bird. In 1887, dead House Spar­ strate one's standing as a good com­ revolutionary China was a frequent rows for pot pies were "a dollar a munist and patriot by eliminating as subject of paintings and was an enor­ hundred on the Albany, New York, many as he or she could. mously popular cage-bird despite its market" (Laycock 1966). In 1886, Mr. My pious auntie, Marian Fang being "as common in Peking as our Smith wrote to the U.S. Government [Lindholm is of Swedish and Chinese English Sparrow is in London or Paris" Ornithologist W.B. Barrows, "If all the descent], would pray in her room and (Delacour 1928), has a vast range sparrows in our town are mine, and sing hymns to drown out the regularly across Europe and Asia. In 1870 and my neighbors all say they are, then I scheduled cacophony of everyone 1879, Tree Sparrows were released in have at least plenty for my money ... else on the block banging pots and St. Louis, and more than a century They are now in thousands in our pans and setting off firecrackers to later "possibly 25,000" remain in the town, and are plentiful in every frighten the Evil Birds into firing surrounding areas of Missouri and Illi­ town, city and village in this part of range. Uncle Peter, then Concert Mas­ nois (Terres 1980). Though they do Ontario ..." (Laycock 1966). ter of the Shanghai Symphony and visit "grain fields to eat some wheat, L.H. Smith's letter to W.B. Barrows thus having no occasion to otherwise oats and corn" (Ibid. 1980), their small was in response to the latter's investi­ use air-rifles, always shot well over his numbers have prevented them from gation in 1886, on behalf of the U.S. minimum quota to ensure that Big attaining the infamy that led to their Department of Agriculture, as to Sister would not get in trouble at the destruction in China. whether English Sparrows were really next neighborhood brigade meeting The failure of the Tree Sparrow to a problem (Laycock 1966). In re­ when they tallied up the kill. Children spread beyond the environs of St. sponse to the 5,000 surveys he sent all were required to bring dead sparrows Louis and east St. Louis is most likely over the continent, he got 3,330 to school; I heard a recent NPR inter­ due to the arrival in that area "around answers. Typical responses included, view with Nien Cheng, whose 1987 1875" (Terres 1980) of Passer domes­ "It strips down green corn in the fields book Life and Death in Shanghai tica, the House (or English) Sparrow, ... ," "I had a variety ofwheat which I details exactly how much trouble she another species found throughout was growing for seed and they took got into during the Cultural Revolution Europe as well as central Asia and every grain," and " ... in buying - her daughter went to school with India. The first attempt to establish this chicken feed, I allow two parts for the sparrows that "Cook" bought at the species in America, by the Brooklyn sparrows and one for the chickens" market. Institute (now a major art museum) in (Ibid. 1966). And, even before The results of these programs were 1851, ended in failure (only 16 were this U.S.D.A. investigation, the effects such that when Professor ].R. Hodges imported) (Laycock 1966). The Insti­ of House Sparrows on native passer­ (1988), Chairman of the Council of the tute then brought in a large shipment ines was causing increasing alarm. Avicultural Society visited China he from Liverpool, releasing some right Laycock (966) cites early observa­ reported, "The efforts of the Chinese off the boat in 1852, and the rest "on tions of the displacement of Purple authorities to rid Beijing of sparrows the grounds of Greenwood Cemetery" Martins and other species and, of afa WATCHBIRD 39 The Golden Sparrow is still often listed in its own genusAuripasser, but the American consensus, at least now, appears to be that it belongs in the genus Passer. course, today the House Sparrow's Cape of Good Hope in the days now prohibits it. In pet stores, the Gol­ threat to all three species of bluebirds before the Suez Canal.) den Sparrow has always been fairly through conlpetition for nesting sites Six of these species have avicultural inexpensive, but never especially is well known. By the 1880s, all sorts histories, and one has been conlmer­ common, certainly not at the level of of externlination efforts were in effect cially imported in large numbers. abundance of Red-eared and Orange­ (Laycock 1966) with obviously little, if None of these will be of future con­ cheeked Waxbills, Paradise Whydahs any, long-term results. Apparently cern to most California aviculturists as, or Red Bishops in the days before the there are many places in the U.S. with quite a variety of other Passeri­ Newcastle's Disease restrictions where House Sparrows are less com­ form birds, no n1embers of the genus inlposed in 1972. Despite the fact that mon than they were at the turn of the Passer can be maintained in captivity it is one of the very few largely yellow century, but this has to do with the in that state without a permit usually wild birds available to American avi­ transition fronl horsepower to electric given only to zoos, registered sup­ culturists, its unsuitability for inclusion and conlbustion engine modes of pliers or researchers. in community aviaries has made it transport, with the resulting dis­ Due to the intricacies of taxonomy, unacceptable to a great many people appearance of n1anure in the street one species was sold quite legally in who might otherwise be interested. (the Chinese name for "Sparrow" California into the '90s, and quite a After more than 30 years, Finches translates as "Horse Bird."). few remain in private possession of and Soft-billed Birds by Henry Bates In light of the notoriety of P. mon­ individuals who are quite unaware and Robert Busenbark (1963) remains, tanus and P. domesticus} it may ~ome their birds are prohibited. The Golden in my opinion, the standard work for as a surprise that Passer is a predomi­ Sparrow Passer luteus was, for years, Americans on finches in aviculture nantly African genus, 10 of the 19 placed in the genus Auripasser (Latin and continues to be reprinted. Bates species naturally breeding there. (The for "Golden Sparrow"). Some ornitho­ and Busenbark operated a retail shop Indian subspecies of the House Spar­ logists continue to maintain this dis­ in Palo Verdes, near Los Angeles, and row is now a common bird in south­ tinction. In America, however, this birds fronl every commercial source ern Africa, probably descended fron1 bird is generally considered a Passer) passed through their hands, giving "stow-aways" on ships rounding the and as such the State of California them an encolupassing overview of 40 July / Augu t 1994 the bird trade of the 1950s and '60s. times in succession, and, even when While falling sholt of Chairman Mao's no ant's eggs or mealworms are avail­ opinions regarding Tree Sparrows, able, they usually rear their young ... their remarks on the Golden Sparrow with greenstuff, soft food and soaked are nonetheless unexpected in a book seed." These same authorities state on cage-birds, "In all honesty, this is that these birds "usually breed in nest­ one species which the writers try to boxes. They fill the whole of the avoid.