Evening star., 1944-01-17
This and That
By Charles E. Trdce1Dell.
MOUNT RAINIER. Nd,

MOUNT RAINIER, Nd.
Dear Sir:
1--WE were walking on Thirty -eighth
avenue, close to Magruder Park, when
we saw what looked like a bluebird
f1utter among the branches of tree by
the roadside. On coming closer we were
thrilled to see seven bluebirds fly one
by one out of the nearby trees and wing
their way toward the park.
These bluebirds seemed so much
darker or deeper blue than they do in
spring. I would be interested to know
whether the bluebirds' plumage ac-
tually takes on deeper shade in WIN
ter, or whether it may just have seemed
darker due to the overcast winter sky
I'VE have lived in Mount Rainier for
about 10 years and only once before
have we seen bluebird. That was in
the springtime when a single one shyly
flew across our way and disappeared in
the woods.
1--WE saw another bird recently which
is not regular winter resident here.
This particular cold morning I OBJ
served blue jay SO flercely but futilely
in an attempt to break the crust of ice
on the shallow bird bath When I re-
moved the cake Of ice and filled the
basin, I thought I heard the call of
flicker. AS soon as I went in the house
a big flicker flew down to drink
Sincerely, v. I. S."
The plumage of most birds is brighter
in the spring.
Few colors in bird feathers are purer
than those Of the bluebird.
No doubt in winter, when the entire
landscape is gray looking a fight of
bluebirds would make a beautiful pic
ture, and the individual birds seem
darker.
The flicker is a common permanent
resident in this vicinity, but is much
less abundant in winter. Many of them,
of course migrate. 1t would be hard to
say whether the few we see here in
winter are permanent, or migrators
which have made the vicinity of Wash
ington their most southerly point.
Bluebirds commonly have deeper
tones in autumn than at any other time
of the year. Their true blue, however,
comes in spring.
We were surprised the other day to
see very large bird beneath the feed
ing station.
He seemed especially large among a
flock Of sparrows.
He was flicker, the first one we had
seen since summer.
This bird has black crescent on the
throat and red patch on the back of
the head
He is the one who spends much of his
time spring and summer eating ants,
and therefore may be regarded as the
gardeners friend.
Often he will spend long time on a
tree, collecting the ants from the bark,
or will walk along crack in the cement
sidewalk, looping up ants as he goes
He is given in the books as being be-
tween II and 13 inches long.
His tongue is long and barbed like an
arrow, and it with this flexible instru-
ment that he gathers in the ants.
The body of the tongue is covered with
sticky saliva, which entangles the ants
much in the manner of the old-fash-
ioned sticky fly paper.
He really might have been called an
"ant eater" which he really is.
In some sections of the country he is
named commonly the golden winged
woodpecker, to which family he be-
longs. Few species have as many COM
mon names, including clape, yellow
hammer, high-hole, heigh-ho, wick-up,
hairy wicket, yawker and walk-up. Some
of these refer to his habit of following
out nest high in tree. There are
cases on record, however, of the flicker
nesting on the ground when no trees
were available. Few birds are so re-
sourceful
The flicker seen in our own yard re-
manned only minute, no longer, ana
was gone. It Is no. wonder that our
correspondent did not think the flicker
regular winter resident.