Evening star., 1944-11-03
This and That
By Charles Z. Trdce10eH.
"yxyvoN6TNr. AyyENr1r

w oMlNST ANENOE
Dear Sir:
II have just seen something which
sends me scurrying to write letter to
you.
Hopping around with a group of
sparrows was a bird which ! took at
first to be young robin. However.
differences were Immediately apparent.
'The bird was shaped like a sparrow,
but larger than the largest one I have
ever seen. His back was colored like
sparrow, his breast gray, but his fat
little sides were exactly the color OF
robins breast.
His tail was . little longer than q
sparrow's and the feathers were black
and white. or gray and white. Un-
fortunately forgot to notice his beak,
but do not believe that 1t was the color
Of robins
"The bird was hopping just exactly
as q sparrow does, not with the little
run characteristic Of a robin. have
seen many young robins and know this
was not one. I did not have time
to observe the bird as long as I would
have liked, SO cannot describe him more
explicitly.
Il know that birds are never supposed
to mate with other than their own
species, but this bird certainly seemed
to be a cross between . robin and q
sparrow.
Gould you, in your excellent column
which has been q source OF enjoyment
to me for many years, throw some
light on this?
Thanking you. I am
VERY sincerely, v. r j."
The bird was q towhee, either q
female or young male.
This beautiful bird belongs to the
sparrow clans, and is often seen with
them.
common name for it is chewink.
The species may be classed as q per-
manent resident, since a few of them
remain all winter. 1t is seen during
the summer and in migration. MIGRANTS
COM as early as the last week of March.
and leave by the last week in October.
Few more beautiful birds are seen
hereaboutS than the male towhee. It's
head, chest and upper parts are black,
It's breast and abdomen white, and the
SIDES OF breast are cinnamon-b This
Is where the resemblance to the robin
color comes in. In good specimens
this coloration is bright and vivid, and
with the white at once sets the crea-
ture OIL as something "super-duper."
Few birds in the winter scene strike
out the admiration for themselves that
this one does, especially If 1t comes to
feeding station close to window and
thus permits the observer to get a
really good view of it.
The female towhee or chewink re-
SembleS the male, except that brown
replaces the black portions. This makes
her look more Sparrowlike. Young males
are somewhat streaked on the back.
giving them sparrowlike appearance.
The names "towhee" and "cheWink"
seem to be intended to represent the
bras call notes. The American Orni-
biologists Union has adopted the name
'towhee," so 1t would seem that its
members think 1t the best. But to
many ears, including our own, "ohewink"
comes much nearer to giving an idea Of
the sound.
A similar confusion comes in rep
resenting the simple song in syllables.
One authority gives it as "chuck-burr.
pil-a-will-a-will-a-will", while another
insists on "hip-you, .he-he-he- he-he."
There doesn't seem to be much agree
ment here; and it makes no difference,
for rendition of bird songs in print
is VIGOROUSLY unsatisfactory, anyway.
A true finch, the towhee likes to be
with sparrows, especially the song
. sparrow 1t is great scratcher, its
movements resembling those of a hen.
Towhees have two broods year,
the nest usually being on the ground.
This makes it easy for the cowbird
to drop its own eggs for the foster
mother to bring up Both eggs are
somewhat alike, but the cowbird egg
is the smaller and does not have the
pale-pink hue of typical towhee eggs.
Towhees have black bills, and the
iris Of the eye Is red, giving the bird.
an unusual and fetching appearances.