Evening star., 1944-03-24
This and That
By Charles E. Trdce1DeU.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.

Dear Sir:
Il am now feeding a very interesting
flock OF cardinals. I suppose they are
cardinals. I started feeding with a sim
gle gadget which bought in New York
one day and since that time I have pur-
chased afdozen. They are hung in ever
green's. and take cylinder of seed and
suet
We'll, started off two years ago with
one cardinal. Last spring pair showed
up. This year-a convention every day
-Four to eight or 10 for each meal and
goodness knows the females they traipse
around with are a scandal!
About 500 yards from the bird feed
ers is corner of a five-acre corn patch
which last year contained blue jays. I
never saw blue jays near the bird feed
ers till one day month ago scattered
some OF this store -boughten wildbird
seed around on the ground. 1t had sun
flower seeds in the mess and a delega-
tion of blue jays landed on it like George
Pattons army. How come, they know
so much?
Il am visited frequently but not daily
by flock of swiftly moving small birds
with tint of electric blue when they
fly away. What are they?
MY so-called farm is in fairfax Coun-
ty on Holmes Run and is about 10 acres
clear and IS acres oak woods. Plenty of
small wild life in spite of the fact it is
only 10 miles arrow line from here to
Fourteenth and F streets NV II you
feel the urge to visit these parts. I am
always your host,
And daily-reading friend, E. c."
The small birds about which this cor
respondent inquiries were most probably
pluebirds. They have been reported in
numbers in the Virginia suburbs Some
are winter residents hereabc4ts. They
live in nearby Virginia all winter. and
also in Wesley Heights in the District of
Columbia.
Bluebirds migrate early in March, and
are gregarious in migration.
There is no bird talked about more
and seen less than this famous beauty
At one time there were thousands here
abouts, but since 1912, when a sleet
storm killed so many of them they have
not been seen so much. In our own
yard we have had exactly two bluebirds
in IA years
The bluebird of song and story is seven
inches long, with upper parts light lco-
balt) blue, under parts cinnamon, chest
nut and white This Is the male bird.
The female is bluish-gray on the back,
passing into bright blue on the rump.
The wings are blue, the breast not so
bright as the male.
We have found that many persons are
not familiar with this bird, due to its
scarcity, and that when they suddenly
see it they often wonder what it is They
most often do not realize that it is as
small as it really is.
When the English came to America
they called the bluebird the blue robin"
since its breast reminded them of their
own robin red-breast" at home Our
own robin, of course, is not really a
robin at all. but is a member of the
thrush family. to which the robin be-
longs. Both baby robins and bluebirds
have thrush-like spots on the breast,
which they lose when they grow up.
There are not many birds with blue on
them after all.
The indigo bunting is a. summer resi-
dent here, the earliest here, the earliest
known arrival date being April 18. This
Wdo III 4oAO., ALC lldlC Id UluS,
changing to blush green in certain
lights. They are not gregarious. The
bird is So inches long.
The tree swallow arrives about March
"a. 1t is six inches long. with steel blue
tints above. 1t might be called "elec-
trio blue The cliff swallow comes
about April 10, and also is steel blue
above 1t is inches long.
The blue-gray gnatcatcher arrives
March 16, is AZ inches long. 1t is gray
ish-blue above
The barn swallow comes March 30, is
about seven inches long and is steel blue
above.
The only other bird with blue on him
around here is that true American, the
blue jay. A correspondent. A. r. S., of
Nineteenth street, calls attention to q
lost poem, "A Genuine American" by
James Whitcomb Riley, which appeared
inn recent Issue Of the Mercury. J