Evening star., 1936-02-15
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

The birds Of France resemble the
birds of America, IL we may Judge from
letter by q local woman who has q
chateau there, whittier she goes every
year in May.
Dear Sir" she writes, "you have writ
ten so much about birds lately that it
makes me want to talk about them,
too-not that know much about orni-
thology, at that.
"I've only an unlearned friendliness
for them, and this morning when, in the
midst of snow and ice, heard cardinal
singing his cheerful Spring song, sur
rounded by the brick walls Of apartment
houses and the board fences OF back
yards, I felt that he was pretty much
Of philosopher. -
He had just been on my window sill
eating wild bird seed, and, no doubt, felt
optimistic about Winter supplies.
"I have a small house in France, In
the depths of the country, where !
spend some three or four months each
year, and I always try to arrive there
early In May, when the birds are sing
ing their best.
"The nightingale sings then, not only
on moonlight nights, but also in the
daytime-late in the afternoon you can
hear him in the hedge rows, when the
hedges are all a-bloom with white may,
or hawthorn.
"They are not so dramatic as our
mocking bird, when he sings in the
moonlight, but they have delicate
liquid way of singing, which Is very
romantic and silvery
THE merle, or European blackbird.
is our most noticeable entertainer. He
is trim and has black legs. so that he
sometimes resembles an English bishop
in CATERS, when he walks sedately on
the lawn.
"But he is an accomplished vocalist,
and is quick to pick up any airs that
please him. I have heard him whistle
a phrase from French folk songs and
very charming sentimental bits, in the
early Spring, and, later on, when the
Young men Of the countryside have
been called to the colors for their mill
tary service and have been marching
through the lanes. blowing bugles and
getting drinks of cider from the different
farms, the merles have suddenly gone
martial and have begun to whistle bugle
calls and tunes that sounded suSpi-
ciously like military marches. You'd
think the merles had been called to
colors, too.
THE pinsons-chaff1nch ?-hunt in
couples. He, though not a brilliant
little bird, is made up Of so many diff
ferent colors that the French have a
legend that he was the last bird God
made, and that God used up on him
all the odds and ends Of color left on
the palette after the other birds were
finished.
THE female is soberly brown, and
very demure She walks along on the
sanded driveway, looking like a little
old-fashioned lady in a shawl, and only
lacks a Sunshade over her shoulder.
If she finds that she is alone she sud-
denly gets in terrible feminine 1utter
and stops still and calls plaintively.
"We have owls, too, in the big tower
by the gate-owls that sit in the high
round windows, and wait for dusk to
come, when they fly, so silently, out to
the trees.
THE gardeners wife brought baby
one down out of a loft once. He made
noise like kitten, and, at moments
clapped his harmless beak fiercely. He
was round and downy, and had eye
lashes and went to sleep quite calmly
in our very faces.
"We put him back and, having got to
know his voice. I followed his career
with interest when he grew old enough
to fly. He was a most demanding
youngster, and kept his parents waiting