Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-03-28
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Truce1Ueu.
INVESTMENT BUILDING,

INVESTMENT BUILDING.
Dear sir: -.
First, many thanks for your splendid
column.
Next, question: As I look out of my
window I can see feeding 10 sparrows,
Is juncos, 2 cardinals, titmouse, nut
hatch and birds can't name, though
they look like thrushes-about twice the
size of sparrow. reddish brown back,
dark head, pronounced brown stripes on
hght-colored breast, rather dumpy in
shape. If it is thrush, what kind of
thrush is it? Sincerely, w. La R., Jr."
These birds are not thrushes, but fox
sparroWs. Few birds which come to the
local feeding stations are more interest
ing. The largest of the sparrows, they
are here from late February to early
April and again from the last of
October to November.
The fox sparrow is 712 inches long
with upper parts reddish-brown and
wings and tail lighter; the throat.
breast and sides are heavily spotted
with reddish-brown like thrush
This is one of the best of the migrants,
and is often mistaken for a thrush. par
ticularly the wood thrush, which usually
does not arrive here until April %
almost to the day.
1t likes flower borders, where it can
dig among the leaves, but will come to
a feeding station. especially when snow
is on the ground.
Few birds scratch more for their din
ner. And none does such a good lob
of it. Other scratching birds are the
brown thrasher and the towhee There
is no bird, however, which goes at it
with such vengeance and makes such
comlcal impression on the observer.
y
There were two fox sparrows in orr
YARD during the sleet, and they spent
most OF their time with the flock of
Juncos which had come in as result
of the storm
The fox sparrows dug in the snow for
SEED winch had been covered I'D.
although they could get all they could
eat on the surface.
Digging is their preference.
one OF them kept digging himself
little bathtubs in the snow. going so
1ar down that he was completely out
of sight.
II you saw hole in the snow. and
some sort of commotion in it. you could
De sure that a fox sparrow was at the
bottom of it.
lhese expressions were, literally, "fox
holes" in the best sense.
Soldiers who are forced to dig such
concealments for themselves on the
battle fronts might wish for the digging
ability of these sparrows.
FOX sparrows are colorful and inter-
esting birds from all standpoints. MANY
observers whose acquaintance with the
Varous sparrows is not very wide never
suspect that they belong to the family.
Nineteen different species of spurious
come to Washington and nearby Mary
land and Virginia. The fox sparrow is
the largest and brightest of the lot. He
Is SO large and so colorful that ones
instinct is to suspect him of being a
thrush, which he much resembles.
His song Is held to be the finest of all
the sparrow clans He sings best accord
Ing to the experts. when in a flock The
song at nesting time, of course. is his
masterpiece, and is heard mostly in
Canada and New England. The bird
winters south of the Potomac and Ohio
although few have been known to
winter here.
NO one need worry about this bird
being able to get food in snow. 1t can
dig through almost any storm and ice
TO stray seeds and dormant insect
forms.
The person is very fortunate who has
fox sparrow to remember as part of
the sleetstorm. To most local residents
that storm will be remembered mainly
as nuisance, an Inconvenience, in some
cases a danger. The person interested
IN birds will always recall, when he
thinks Of the way spring came in 1914.
colorful reddish brown creature
digging himself out Of sight In the ice
and coming bobbing with natures splen-
dor and Vipor.