Stan Moore, age 11, of Hornedale, Idaho, for his question:

Is the sparrow a fierce bird?

In North America we have over 90 different varieties of sparrow. They are dainty little birds, with fluttery wings and short, cone‑shaped bills suitable for crushing seeds. Most of these sparrows enjoy life in the wild wools, the fields and the hedges. A few fight for their rights and a few will pick a quarrel. Most of them are heard only in song. After all, the canary is a member of the sparrow family.

As a whole, this family has a reputation for good character. How then does the grubby, noisy, rowdy, quarrelsome, scrappy house sparrow fit into the picture? The aggravating truth is that he is not a sparrow at all. It seems unfair that the well‑mannered sparrows should get a bad name on his account.

What's more, this delinquent of the bird world is not even a native American. Until about 150 they could pester only the people of Europe and Asia. The New World had gotten along very well, thank you, without them. Then some short‑sighted person brought a few of them to New York from Europe.

The small, brownish birds decided to make themselves comfortably by fair means or foul. They enjoy life around houses and built‑up areas. But they found that other, larger birds, including the pigeons, were already in residence. This only started to bring out the worst in the character of the immigrants.

Watch them feeding with the pigeons in the park. This little toughie will scream, flap his wings and charge a big pigeon. Larger, more desirable birds such as bluebirds, martins and grosbeaks are often driven from their favorite places by the aggressive little so‑called sparrow. For his size this pesky fellow is just abut the fiercest and most quarrelsome bird in the world. Tic just hates to have other birds around and does all he can to make life miserable for them until they move array.

Mrs. Toughie has several broods each year, which means the little pests multiply at a treat rate. They now live all over the United states and way up into Canada. They do not migrate and so are around to pester their neighbors winter and summer.

We know now that the sparrow family cannot be blamed for this delinquent character. He is sometimes called the English sparrow. But we cannot blame the English for he lived all over Europe and Asia. Actually, he is a weaverbird and most of his neat and well‑mannered cousins live in the tropics. They have all disowned this black sheep of the family.

Weaverbirds are named for the elaborate nests they weave. Our so‑called sparrow is a sloppy and untidy builder. He learned no good habits from his own family and none from the dainty sparrow family he tried to adopt.

The best we can say for him is that he is often quite a clown. He loves to show off, especially when he goes courting. His antics of strutting, screaming and flapping often annoy even the object of his affections. And, if you enjoy a scrap, it is sometimes amusing to watch this fierce little character drive off a flock of pigeons. Yes, the so­ called house sparrow is really a toughie, but he rarely spills any blood.