Evening star., 1932-05-05
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES z. TRACEFELL.

Beautiful, but dumb" the phrase
once applied to girls of certain type
admirably fits our small friend tbs
thrush.
This speckle-breasted fellow hasn't
enough sense to come in out Of thu
rain" as they used to say.
He Is one Of the few living creatures
which does not seem to be gifted with
some degree of caution. His instinct Of
elf-protection is about nil.
Especially in the evening, that most
lovely time of Spring and Summer
when fading sunlight transforms gar
dens into fairylands, this companion
able bird loses its last vestige Of COM
mon sense.
Then it hops around placidly beneath
shrubbery and evergreens, obliviouS tC
human beings or any other creatures
We stood about four feet from one one
evening. and it paid no attention to us
Picking up a small stone. we tossed II
in the general direction Of the thrush
in order to test its cense Of danger.
Apparently 1t had none, for it looked
mildly at the rolling pebble, which came
within few inches of its feet.
Then, as if nothing had happened at
all. it continued its investigation of the
x y
Is the thrush the original conductor
Of jazz bands?
This was the question which popped
into an observers mind as he listened
to the wild melody Of one of these
birds, singing away at dusk on o branch
OF tree but a few feet from the lis
tener'S ear.
1t was the first time a thrush had
honored their friend by a concert at
such a close range
Ordinarily he heard them from a dis
tance. and mostly during their two ia
Vorite hours. from to o'clock in the
morning and from to Z in the eve
ming. There is nothing hard and fast
about these times, of course; they vary
with the season, the bird, and SO on.
The listener had always suspected
that the thrush made great many
sounds which were not clearly distin-
guished, and which did not seem tc
have much relationship to its primary
song, the 1utelike, descending strains
which stand out so clearly and unmis-
takably from the songs Of other birds
He did not know, however, Just what
the thrush did, and there was no way Of
knowing, indeed, unless the bird came
close enough to be observed clearly.
y y
What a fine, grand opera chest he
has, thought the observer, as he hap
pened to notice a thrush on q bough
within few feet of the window.
1t sat with its feet clasped around the
small bough, its serious placid eyes look
ing into space, its bill pointed to the
sky at an agile Of about As degrees.
1t was getting ready to sing.
First 1t pulled out its chest, already
very full, but now larger than ever.
Then 1t gave two preliminary clucks
for all the world like the customary
duet OF admonitory raps which the
dance orchestra leader gives with his
baton on the side of music rack al
the commencement of a number.
Each "cluck clUck" was followed bv
one of the trills for which the thrush
is famous.
So this was the way the thrush sang
One had TO be able TO see him sing
to hear him sing, II it may be put that
way.
No sooner did he utter his two clucks
in a low. soft voice, than his little
throat wrinkled twice, rapidly, and then
his bill opened for the triolet, or what
ever one might choose to call the first
phrase Of his beautiful song.
In concert of about Is minutes the
singer did not once omit these prelimi-
nary clucks, as II he needed a bit of di-
rection before attempting his major
work.
Usually his song falls into four ds-