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From: rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Sparrow classification (was Re: Bluebird Comments)
Message-ID: <1991Apr19.154930.15917@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu>
Date: 19 Apr 91 15:49:30 GMT
References: <1991Apr19.133714.24381@cbnewsc.att.com>
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In article <1991Apr19.133714.24381@cbnewsc.att.com> joi@iwtdv.att.com (joy.m.metcalf) writes:
>I've never heard of sparrows being called finches before.  Are they
>in the same family?  Aren't house sparrows often called "English sparrows"?
>
>An interesting tidbid I got from an ornathologist at Morton Arboretum:
>
>Both house sparrows and starlings were *purposely* introduced by the
>colonists because they wanted to make sure there were birds around to
>control the insect population.
>
The classification of house sparrows is (Ithink) still uncertain, but
I think the powers that be are sure they are not sparrows.  As my
father (who grew up in England) says though, the word "sparrow" was
INVENTED for the English House Sparrow!  So we shoulc rename all
the sparrows instead...

On the introduction of starlings--a man in NYC (I think) wanted to have
all the birds from Home in an exhibit and thus purposely released 
the European starling; I have heard he was responsible for the House
Sparrow also.  Certainly it had nothing to do with insect control.

Ruth
(I'd better add that the above is to the best of my knowledge; I'm not
a world authority on all this.)