Evening star., 1944-08-21
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Tr1ceUeU

COLONY HILL.
Dear Sir:
Since my father owns q farm in
Virginia have lots of time to 60 bird
ing in the country I take boys Of
the Colony Hill Bird Club slong with
me and show them some of the bird
life in the country. There are num-
ber of migrant shrikes on our farm
Just recently found the larder of one
Of these. The small tree he used
bristled with thorns. On one tiny
mouse was impaled There were also
the remains Of several large grass
hoppers.
"Our main business is cattle raising
and accidents are rather frequent.
After a thunderstorm last summer one
Of our cows was found dead Several
days later not vulture had appeared
OF course we thought this strange. but
all the farmers knew the answer They
said that vultures know when an ami
mails blood has been jelled by lightning
and therefore won't touch it.
I'VE had insurance on the COW and
wanted to collect on it. After telling
the insurance company what the farm
ers said, they promptly gave us our
money.
The theory must be accepted as true
Thank you lot for your column,
enjoy it very much.
Sincerely, N. S."
Despite its repulsive appearance and
habits, the turkey vulture. or "buzzard, :"
as it is often called Is one of our most
interesting and useful birds.
He not only is supreme aviator, q
specialist on gliding, but he helps clean
up decaying dead animals and so keeps
the good earth clean.
His senses of sight and smell are
enormously powerful.
He uses one or both Of these senses
in finding his prey. Just which one he
uses must depend upon circumstances
Persons who have made intensive
study of the turkey vulture are divided
One group says he uses his nose, and
the other his eyes. Experiments have
tended to show that the bird can find
food which is hidden from sight, and
therefore proponents of this school de-
clare it must be his nose.
On the other hand, the birds eye
sight is one of the best in all nature.
He can spot mouse for miles, as it
creeps along a ridge.
1t may be that he sees what he can,
and smells the rest. However he does it,
he seldom misses anything, and makes
long dive when he locates food, and
all the other vultures for miles follow
after him, from wherever they may
have been. There Is no question, with
them-it is eyesight. Perhaps success
full spotter of food has way of coming
down which gives his find away.
The intelligence of this bird is shown
In its habit of watching dogs which
are able to find food in caves and the
like. The dog, of course, is a carrion
eater, too. The wise old buzzard knows
this, some way, and keeps his ugly eyes
open. When he sees dog looking
rather interested, he watches it closely,
and goes in after it.
Always the buzzards have patroled
beaches Tor fish. In recent years they
have discovered that many small ami
mails are killed by motorists. They
watch for these, getting many rabbits,
squirrels, skunks and birds in this way.
1t is believed that v,ltures also watch
nies, especially the sorts which lay their
eggs in carrion, and thus are led to their
food.
DIR. Alexander Wetmore, writing in
the National Geographic Society's ''The
Book Of Birds" says:
Admitting that the turkey buxzard
has . well developed olfactory sense,
to me present evidence indicates that
1t finds its food mainly, II not entirely,
through the acute sense Of sight" H.