May, i9o6 I THE CHICKADEE AT HOME 6 7 who had just gotten a morsel; and a hopeful expression on the countenance ot the third, who is sure to get the next mouthful--the present, the past and the future in one scene! (See frontispiece.) There are perhaps many other families of chickadees that live and hunt thru the trees along Fulton Creek. I rarely visit the place that I do not hear some of them. But ever since the seven left the old alder stump,' that has now fallen to pieces, I never see a flock about this haunt that they do not greet ?ne with the same song I heard three years ago: "Chickadee-dee! Chickadee-dee!" Portland, The English Sparrow in the Southwest BY O. W. HOWARD O far as I can learn the English sparrow (Passer domesticus) is found in every state in the Union, and in most of our large cities they are so common as to be considered a plague. Why are there no English sparrows in southern California where the climatic conditions'are so mild and inviting? My first experience with the English sparrow occurred in December, ?9o?, when I had occasion to visit the town of Bakersfield. I was much surprised to find the little fellows feeding on the paved streets in the center of town. I knew the sparrows were common in San Francisco and neighboring towns but had no idea they had found their way so far south. ' Later., in the spring of ?9o2, I found the sparrows nesting commonly about the principal buildings of Bakersfield; even at the court house they were occupying deserted swallows' nests. In ?9o3, I again visited Bakersfield several times and found that the sparrows had increased considerably. A number of pairs were nesting in cypress trees in yards and seemed to take the place of linnets. Late in the fall of the same year I chanced to stop at the town of Tehachapi, about 4000 feet elevation, situated at the extreme summit of Tehachapi Pass thru which the Southern Pacific railroad runs. Here I found the English sparrow in flocks feeding around the railroad yard. This was another revelation to me for I took it for granted tl?at Bakersfield was their southernmost limit and did not expect to find them at this high altitude. The Tehachapi Mountains are considered the natural dividing line between northern and southern California, the San Joaquin Valley on the north and the Antelope Valley on the south. After finding the sparrows at Tehachapi, I natur- ally expected to find them next at the town of Mojave which is located on the edge of the desert in Antelope valley and only about twenty-five miles south of Tehach- api. I searched several times at the town of Mojave during the year ?9o3 but failed to find a single sparrow. I have not had opportunity to visit that locality since ?9o3, but in the meantime have made some observations in Arizona. While located at Tucson, in May, ?9o4, I was very much surprised one morn- ing to see an English sparrow alight within ten feet of me on the principal street and at once commence scratching for its favorite food. I saw several other birds the same day and later in the season found about half a dozen pairs nesting in the switch-board boxes which are placed on telephone poles about twenty-five feet
