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From: marcone@math.psu.edu (Alberto G. Marcone)
Newsgroups: rec.birds
Subject: Re: Sparrow classification (was Re: Bluebird Comments)
Keywords: starlings
Message-ID: <xt4G!_mu1@cs.psu.edu>
Date: 21 Apr 91 01:07:41 GMT
References: <1991Apr19.133714.24381@cbnewsc.att.com> <1991Apr19.154930.15917@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu>
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In article <1991Apr19.154930.15917@maverick.ksu.ksu.edu> rdmiller@matt.ksu.ksu.edu (Ruth D Miller) writes:
>
>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.)

According to 'Birds of Pennsylvania' by Wakeley&Wakeley the starling was
introduced in NYC in 1890 by a "well-meaning but misguided resident of
that metropolis" who "undertook an expensive project to import to the
United States all of the birds mentioned in the writings of Shakespeare."
Apparently starlings are mentioned in Henry IV....

According to the same book, the house sparrow was introduced a couple
of decades earlier.

Alberto		marcone@math.psu.edu