Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-08
Birds ON the wing.

Birds on the Wing.
r IKE the school children In many
- American towns, the Autumn birds
arrive from the North in platoors.
fancy that can distinguish three
groups Of birds conspicuous on the wing
In Autumn. First there are our Sum-
mer resident birds, which make ready
for departure, and, as If seeking COM
partnership, protection or q leader
gather into little bands before begin
ming the ardors of their southwark
flight. Here I distinguish the orioles
and the spotted sandpiper, the cuckoos
and nighthawks and whippoorwills
buntings, tanagers, martins, vtreosl
warblers, wrens and thrushes,
There are the real Autumn tran
sients, fascinating creatures that nash
through our boughs upon their metz
oric dash for the tropics. These are
such birds as you catch but glimpse
Of some sparkling Autumn morning
the flirt of tail, the CLINT OF q wing,
half of a call note, poignAntly recalling
Spring. Then they are gone, too subtle
in their arrow flight for our clumsy
following.
IN this company look for that fat and
Jolly fellow, the rose-breasted grosbeak:
the blueiay and the adorable song SPAR
row, the vesper sparrow and the white
crowned sparrow whom meet oftener
In books and ~ than in the flesh,
or should say ain the feather"?). The
fox sparrow, too belongs to this class
and the common te-breasted nut
hatch. AS for his rose-breasted cousin,
he ought to be in evidence. according 70
the books; but I never see him. And
the golden-crowned kinglet Is another
credited with transient Autumnal hab-
its I cannot discover, perhaps because
am not better ornithologist.
The rlby-crowned kinglet, who L
quite noisy sometimes in May, reap
pears, quite silent now, though have
been able to catch q glimpse Of hil
hermit thrush Is making his way
through underbrush and swampy woods
! We shall not hear him, however. Hi
voice, that most magical cry OF tbs
deepest recesses, is as stilled as PATHS
Tamagno's, Catalini's. Few, indeed, o.
the Autumn birds has anything to say
for themselves. Their only sounds arr
alarm cries and rallying cries. OF rsa
music there Is little, and that Tor ths
very good reason that there Is no mat
ing TO be done.
The third class Of Autumn arrival
are the Arctic-breeding birds which
have come 70 spend the Winter will
us, and O brave showing they make
But Of them there Is . long saga Il
relate through Tine oAlk winner Gays.
Studying the Kildeer.
Time was when that delightful bird
the dldeer plover, was common Eel
low, especially IN the Autumn migra
tory season. But in spite Of his ex
horting the sportsman to kill deer,
fear that he has only drawn the gun
ner's aim upon himself, what with tn
noise he makes whenever you approach
"a 1eux Afoh
or running on the ground, which
intended by the naive little fellow an
by nature, which implanted In him tn
instinct IN . more innocent age to lea
you away, deceptiveiy, upon the sup
position that he u hurt or lame.
Now, to see the kildeer you must 6
down to the Potomac marshes, and
you have luck you may surprise
flight Of kildeer-a very f1ne night
10 when the poor, silly bird Is not try
ing his transparent tricks. These bird
can proceed at great velocity throug
the upper reaches of the air, hav
heard, but the easiest way to obsery
them Is when they are wading about
shallow water, hunting for worms an
insects or taking bath In a pool wit
fne flirting and splashing.
Next to the kildeer's wild cry, whic
the poet and novelist, Miss Elizabet
Roberts, has described and used ofte
in her writings, the most attracti'
feature Of this quaint and persecute
Autumn bird is his plunage.
will mention first his fine yello
legs. His throat and breast and under
parts are beautiful ruined shirt
white with gray markings, and u
same effect encircles the eyes. IT
bill Is black. two splendid black bant
pass over the breast, while the win
are russell. He looks rather like