Evening star., 1938-06-08
THIS AND THAT
By CHARLES B. TRAcEWELL.

friends ind that they are Of equal value
at home In the garden.
The larger works will come along in
time. They are indispensable for any
one who finds the sport of bird watching
especially to his fancy.
n X X
With the aid OF good book it is pos
sible for any amateur to identify in the
neighborhood Of so or more species In a
years time.
Some of these are steady residents
hereabouts the year around, others will
be seen for few days only at migrating
time, others only now and then as they
visit ones yard from their own yard. Let
us make this point clear, for it is often
overlooked. Not every bird which is
living during the summer in this vicinity
is in every garden. Down the street, for
instance, there may be wood thrush,
which nests In Bill Jones apple tree.
But Tom Jones, up the street, never sees
those birds. AS far as he is concerned,
there are no wood thrushes in the neigh
borhood. One fine day he sees anew"
bird, and becomes very much excited
about 1t. It has brown back. he says,
and has spots on its breast-why, that's
a wood thrush, isn't it? Sure enough,
1t is! But 1t is the only one he sees the
year around.
This goes on all the time. The bird
which lives in one garden may visit an
other only occasionally, and the owner
OF the latter yard will tend to think that
the specimen is rare in the vicinity.
The territorial theory accounts for all
this. According to this theory, the birds
which come north to nest select a terri
tory, which they stake of with their
songs; that Is, they sing not only to
please the mate, but they sing in order
to warn other birds Of the same species
away. Each bird needs an enormous
amount Of food each day, and the nest
lings. in particular, need great deal.
Each bird feels that too many Of the
same species in a given territory would
mean starvation for all.
\ -
The wood thrush, the olive-backed
thrush, and the veery, member of the
thrush family
All have been identified hereabouts
within the past three weeks by amateur
bird watchers.
This is interesting, because the latter
two are not easy to identify.
Noting the differences between species
Of the same genus is the way to success.
This means that one first must know the
standard" birds, and the only way for
the newcomer to achieve this knowledge
Is to see their pictures in color, and then
to match them up with the actual crea-
lures in bush and tree.
This Is where the small bird books
come in as most valuable and helpful.
Take the sparrows.
1t is only after one has leafed over
colored illustrations Of 20 or more species
Of this great bird family that one realizes
fully just how much alike they look to
the inexperienced eye, and how carefully
1t will be necessary to pick out the one
or two distinctive marks which distin-
guish song sparrow, let us say, from the
familiar English sparrow.
Bird study is branch of knowledge
which opens up unexpected vistas and
enjoyment to many who went for years
OF their lives without giving it thought
Better late than never"-there is no
field Of knowledge to which this old say
ing applies quite so well as to bird study
The Boy Scout, eager for his Eagles
degree; the retired business man, the
housewife in her kitchen, the bustling
executive-all these and more will find in
bird observation many happy and profit
able hours.