Evening star., 1936-02-27
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

More bird gossip from the people of
Washington and vicinity:
"Edmunds street.
"Dear Sir: I am constant reader of
The Star, often turning first to the
editorial page to read your articles. This
Winter your discourses on birds have
been very interesting indeed, and am
sure they have made many converts to
bird feeding.
1T seems to me that you are new to
this bird-feeding game, and it makes
me feel good that have long since had
starlings, sparrows, etc.-and that know
how to handle them.
II am particularly pleased that you
have noted and mentioned the superior
beauty of the female to the male car
dinal. The blending Of dusky colors in
the female Is almost indescribable, and
her bill color is superb. The male is red
and not OF such a good hue, which brings
me to the main reason for writing you.
X X X X
"A letter from one of your corre-
spandents, appearing Thursday the Goth,
mentions having several tanagers at his
feeding station (but he doesn't say
When. Any handbook on birds will tell
you that the tanager is one of the early
ones to leave for the South, but before
leaving moults, the new feathers chang
ing from red to greenish or olive shade,
and can scarcely be identified by the
tyro.
Bird Lore, splendid pathological
magazine, publishes Christmas census
each year, and have never read that
the observers have noted tanagers in
Winter I have never noted tanagers
lower than 20 to 25 feet, and usually so
to IS feet, in the tallest of trees.
Further, believe the tanager is en-
tirely lnsectivorous. You, at the end of
the article, discussing the subject, write:
We did not know they Wintered here.
But perhaps that explains one particu
larly vivid fellow we have You prob
ably have your first tanager to see, and
when you do see one you won't need to
see his black Wings-just one flash of
his brilliant scarlet is all you will need
and that will probably be all you will
see-and you will feel sick-have ter
ribly empty, sad feeling that you cannot
petrify him so that you could gaze at
him for hours and then realize how in
sipid is the color of the cardinal. The
particularly vivid fellow you note has
probably plumage older than the others.
Very truly, B. c."
clarendon, Va.
Dear Sir: have enjoyed reading
your interesting articles about feeding
birds-and have been feeding them in
my back yard all through this snowy
Winter.
In your articles you frequently men
ton bird feeders Can you describe
these feeders to me? have been feed
ing on a garden table, but would like to
know how to put out the food so it
would be protected from snow and rain.
Sincerely, M. I. w."
From Alexandria, Va, the following:
Dear Sir: May be one of This and
That and tell you of very unique ex-
perience have had this Winter in re-
gard to our little feathered friends?
Il am fortunate in having sun room,
practically all glass. with wide sills. I
have kept them filled with suet which
I have nailed to board, bread crumbs,
scratch feed and canary seed. The lat
ter appeals to the song sparrows and
juncos.
During the stormy days it was great
fun to see all the different visitors-Car-
olina wren, white -throated sparrows,
cardinals and numerous others.
About two weeks ago his highness,
the mockingbird, arrived on the sill, and,