Evening star., 1941-12-09
THIS AND THAT
BIZ Charles E. Trdce,UeH.

proaches, and thus the marauder finds
no prey for his pains.
Upon the two occasions when a hawk
visited our yard there were no blue laws
present, so the killers had an easy time
of it.
1t seemed as if the presence of the
larger bird hypnotized the songbirds
Not one of them few out of the Van
Fleet rose vine in which they had been
perched.
The hawk flew into the vine. seized
sparrow and tried to fly out again, but
got caught by the big thorns of this rose.
1t was the commotion he made at this
time which attracted our attention. 1t
was impossible to see, through the leaves,
whether he had sparrow or not. BY
the time entrance to the yard could be
made the hawk had freed himself and
his victim and had settled down in the
yard, holding the bird down with its
talons and stabbing clouds of breast
feathers out of the victim with his great
beak. In this case, certainly, he was not
eating the feathers. When the hawk
saw us he flew up, still holding the
sparrow, and flew over the trees and
away.
In most cases of hawk attacks, all the
birds at thriving feeding station will
fly away and not come back for the re-
mainder Of the day. Conversely, if all
birds vanish from a yard which before
had done happy feeding business, it is
a good thing to suspect hawk, even if
you do not see one.
Our correspondents two points are
well made. 1t indeed would be a won
derful thing for the birds If pet cats
were all kept in the house at least from
o'clock in the morning until o'clock
Unfortunately, this never will be done.
What saves the birds is that not more
than one cat In 10, we feel sure, is a
bad bird killer. We have spent much
time observing small animals, and have
more right to say this than those per-
sons who merely jump at some state
ment which pleases their prior convic-
tions.
Cats are individuals, too Many Of
them have no particular desire to catch
birds. Then along will come a cat
which catches them right and left. and
all the other cats are blamed for his Ill
deeds.
Within few feet of our own feeding
stations often lies Tigey. who lives en-
tlrely outdoors, being a pure child of
Nature. Yet none Of the birds fears
him. Three or four male cardinals hop
around on the ground within half
dozen feet of him, or even closer.
There can be little question that many
birds meet sudden death bv getting
hold of poisons put out for rodent con-
troll, as fertilizers, and as sprays of vari-
GUS kinds. All the individual can do is
TO be sure that they get no chance to
get at these on his own grounds. The
trouble Is that birds cover wide ranges
OF territory, and outside the small garden
no control can be placed upon them.
Nobody knows how many birds are made
i'll and ultimately die through inhaling
fertilizers and poison dusts. 1t Is prob
able that the indiScriminate spreading
of such dusts from airplanes has done
a great deal of harm to bird life in Ger
tain sections of the country. Such fac
tors as these must be kept in mind
when one is trying to figure out what
Is causing the lessening of bird life
throughout the Nation. 1t will not do
to place the blame solely on cats or any
other pet peeve. Birds throve for CEN
turtles without being exterminated by
cats. 1t wasn't the cats that killed all
the beautiful passenger pigeons. These
were killed by the same creature which
Is fighting it out now around the world.
His name Is not Cat, but Man.