The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-05-17
OF BIRDS
| HERALD summer
Feathered Families Getting
Busy IN Grounds Of the
White House.
CRACKLE Is HYPOCRITE
Big BIAekbird One of Most Feared of
Flying Populaee- Bird
Sometimes Poor Mocker.
cRAcKLE Is HYPOCRITE

In the cedar trees which line the road
beyond Cabin John Bridge the mocking
birds are singing. The catbirds and the
brown thrashers are trying to rival the
mockers' song. and the thrashers come
pretty close to success. All the roads
leading out Of Washington are lined with
song in this May month. A walk is IN
| inspiriting thing.
The knocking birds stay in Washington
in small numbers all winter. A few ad-
ditional birds come up out Of the South
In the spring. some of them passing on
| to Connecticut and Southern Pennsyl-
vania to nest. while the rest prefer to
| stop In the Potomac country to home
| stead with the little winter colony Of
brothers and sisters.
The mocking bird Is not always a
mocker. Its own song is fine enough in
itself to satisfy any lover of wild music.
When the mocker mocks. 1t does not al
ways do the job perfectly. It has to
| train itself to the work. and some Of its
attempts make one laugh Occa-
sionally. however. Minus polyglottus
THAT Is his name. or at any rate II used
| to be before the scientists became af-
fiicted with the new naming mania) &C
quires perfect power of mimicry.
Versatile Mocking Bird.
The other day. from thick-growins
came the fun song OF the brown thrash
er. In a few moments from the same
tree came the song of a catbird with the
meow thrown into the midst of tn.
music. Then came the native song OF
the hooking bird. There was only one
bird in the tree. OF course, it was
Polyglottus.
DR.. A.. X. Fisher. of the Biological
Survey, the hawk and owl authority, and
a man surcharged with bird knowledge
of all kinds. was walking along the Cabin
John Bridge road when he heard the
call OF a quail. a movement in the bushes
caught his eye and he discovered that
a hooking bird was rendering the quail
call.
William Brewster. of Cambridge. Mass.
a noted ornithologist, was in North
Carolina on bird study trip some time
ago. The spring migration was on. and
there was a flight OF yellow plover. The
day after the fight, Mr.. Brewster ran
on to hooking bird which was trying
its hardest to initiate the plover's call,
but was making bad work of it
Susceptible to Teaching.
The Cambridge ornithologist is a good
deal OF a mimic himself He undertook
to teach the mocker He spent an hour
or two with him. whistling the yellow
legs call. The bird would take ii up
after each pause. and by the time that
the teacher was through the pupil was
perfect in his plover lesson
You can search the country through
for Gagged hooking birds. and after the
search is over you can count on your ten
fingers without going over them twice
the number of prisoners found. It is
against the law in every State in the
Union either to trap or kill the hooking
birds Before the American Ornithologists'
-FNf0 md rHa AID,
organized thousands of trapped mock
ing birds were sold every year
The underground along the banks
of the Potomac is favorite resort of
the Kentucky cardinal otherwise
known as the Virginia nightingale.
The cardinal is rare whistler. Once
on time they Gagged the cardinals
just as they Gagged the Knockers. and
the story of their rescue from durance
is the same tale told of the mocker's
final release.
The fish crows are nesting as Is
their yearly custom. in the trees in
the White House grounds. About the
first of March every year the fish
crows appear in the White House
grounds They are in Washington all
winter. but at the beginning of spring
they begin to feel the nesting instinct
There are now known to be three fish
crow nests in the White House grounds
and there may be more as yet undis-
covered.
GrackIe Is Hypocrite.
The robins and other birds which
nest in the big grounds outlying Mr.
Wilson's residence. hate the fish crow.
II eats the eggs of its smaller neigh
bors. and kills and devours their
young.
The purple grackIe. which probably
is our largest Northern blackbird.
makes a great show Of sorrow. anger.
and indignation when the thieving
fish crow appears. The purple grackle
is much of a hypocrite. He has been
seen to lift young robin from its
nest. carry ii to the ground and
pound II to death.