Evening star., 1936-12-30
THIS AND THAT
by CHARLES L. TRACEWELL,

q few words OF praise, but almost always
these are followed almost Immediately
by words Of condemnation, most of
which are deserved, no doubt.
Yet not all Of the authorized observers
feel that this bird is . total loss. 1t Is
admitted that they do eat some destruc-
tive pests. Not all bird observers think
harshly Of them, however
As far as the amateur bird watcher Is
concerned, he may be forgiven for think
ing them rs interesting birds, in their
way, as any which attend the feeding
station which he puts out in his back
yard.
He learns in time to accept them as
part Of the picture. There Is no getting
away from them. There they are, in
their numbers, tapping their wings at
each other, and at other birds.
They come early and leave late. Truly
there is no getting away from them,
unless one wishes to trap them. Mostly
one will not care to do this. The SPAR
rows furnish rare sights, On cold, snowy
days, As they sweep across the garden,
II there Is more than one feeder, from
one tray to another.
On rainy days the sight of them,
perched on garage window Lodges, out
OF the wet, is pleasing one.
A spray OF shrubbery, adorned with q
row OF dozen or more Of these fat little
birds, is sight to please all those whose
eyes light up at natural pictures.
4
Similarly, if the observer actually looks
at the individual birds, he will come to
the conclusion that this, in truth, a most
handsome creature.
The English sparrow is so familiar
that many persons tend to treat it as SO
many do the common things of life, of
which there are SO many, too many, some
will think.
If one looks at this bird fairly, how
ever, he sees at once that 1t Is very good
looking, in its way.
II song sparrow, a near cousin, hap
pens to join flock of English sparrows,
as 1t will do occasionally, it will accent
the good points of the English, as well
as its own.
Recently we had song sparrow come
to small feeder quite close to the WIN
dow. 1t had been eating with a gang of
its English cousins beneath a feeder in
the perennial border.
1t had the small device all to itself.
We were enabled to get a very good view
OF the exact colors and marks which
distinguish 1t from its more numerous
relatives. 1t is a fine sparrow, but all
in all it brought out very convincingly,
1t seemed to us, the many good points of
the English sparrows. There are dark
streaks and bars on the breast of the
song sparrow and its tail is very slightly
forked. The English sparrow, at its best,
has fine gray waistcoat This is one
OF its most pleasing features, especially
If the bird Is viewed from the front.
Then it may strike the observer as a
bird Napoleon in a snuff-box portrait,
so fat 1t is, so seemingly well clothed,
as beflts an emperor!
A spray of English sparrows, on a bad
day, is one of the most engaging bird
pictures the observer is likely to see in
Winter hereabouts.
While it is best seen in the home
garden, 1t may be observed in the down.
town sections, too, notably along the
cornices of hotels and the like. The wise
observer will be glad he has these friends
everywhere. He will keep a close watch
for differences. and If, from time to time
he sees q semi -albino. or even a full
albino, once in lifetime, he will be
happy. Full albinos probably never live
long, under any circumstances.