Evening star., 1934-03-02

Birds have many friends In WASH
ington and vicinity, In proof Of which
we present today two letters from sew
eral received following the mention
Of the sight OF a pair Of cardinals in
the snow. These letters contain good
advice on how to attract the birds.
The first, from Roslyn, Va, after
the preliminaries, begins:
May take part of your time to
say that I enjoy your philosophy in
The Star? One has the feeling that
you are not Of that number who must
careen down Connecticut avenue in q
mechanical rocket to enjoy life to its
fullest. There are few such left.
What directly prompted my ven-
turing to write you was your disserta-
ton on Winter bird life in Satur-
days Star. Your mention of the car
dinals song as a heralding of Spring
interested me, for out here they have
been singing all Winter.
1T Is true that they will be more
vociferious later, but the cardinals
are with us the year round. Let
there be but furry Of snow (there
have been unending ones this VIM
teri and the cardinals, with their
lovely ladies, golden olive with red
tipped wings, come flocking to our
low south porch, where corn is spread
for them.
I'VE have watched 10 and IL dine
together, not peacefully. but like so
many chickens. with numerous vio-
lent pecks. The song sparrows and
juncoS have to keep a wary eye out
for those parrotlike beaks. Speaking
Of song sparrows, what has been our
delight to hear two actual bursts of
song from one on the porch during
the coldest weather. 1t must have
there has been no sound like 1t since
Around the corner from the porch,
at our dining room window, gather an
entirely different assortment of birds.
The cardinals do not like this layout
and rarely get farther than a perch
on nearby locust to watch the
diners with superior eyes.
"On branch a foot from the win
dow pane hangs half cocoanut shell
filled variously with corn, bread
crumbs, bits Of meat fat, cookies,
mullins. anything we happen to have.
(This shell has weathered two Win
ters and Summers and looks good for
many more A neighbor uses avocado
shells for similar purpose)
Dangling from a branch nearby Is
a net-covered lump of suet. Chicka-
dees, titmice. nuthatches and downy
woodpeckers comprise the chief
guests at this table A year ago many
f1nches came, but only one or two
this season. When the snow was
heaviest a much larger variety Of
woodpecker edged up to the cup to
fill his hungry nav.
Last week I tried the experiment
Of tacking box of crumbs outside
second-story window. The first
visitor was no more or less than
Master Bluebird himself, who, singing
on the wing, snatched his bread and
flew away. The titmice have come a
little, but prefer the lower level.
Prom this 1t may seem possible
that If one wishes really to attract
the birds he should arrange the res
taurantS to suit different tastes The
woodpecker family. along with the
nuthatches, like to approach their
food from a branch, as they do in
Summertime.
"Chickadees and titmice dine
daintily; they enjoy a perch where
the getaway can be more rapid. The
heavier birds, on the other hand,
cardinals, bluejays, starlings (alas), do
not scorn the ground. but will gladly
take their meal in the poultry yard
along with the fowls. I have seen
a lovely wood thrush, too, pecking
about in the chickens scratch feed.
I'VE have had one exception to this
in the mockingbirds, who ahght by
the cocoanut cup with all the grand
manner Of visiting royalty. but gobble
as greedily from 1t as any bluejay.
Perhaps these particular mocking-
birds were of the family of five that