Evening star., 1944-11-20
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,1eH.
ARLINGTON, Va

Dear Sir:
One of your recent correspondents
requested Identification of small bird
which you concluded must be a golden
crowned kinglet.
To-day saw tiny inch bird which
follows closely the same description.
From my window watched 1t at a
distance of 8 feet or less had oppor-
tunity to observe the crown markings
accurately, and they do not correspond
to the picture of the golden-crowned
kinglet in Reeds guide.
The narrow white stripe in the Gen.
ter of the crown was definitely white,
and no wider than the two black stripes
on either side, directly above the eyes.
The only other markings were white
and black on the wings.
The rest &c the body was plain gray.
1t must be kinglet, but golden
crowned?
This summer while l was struggling
to control the insect pests in the veg
etable and flower beds, the thought
occurred to me that it would be easier,
and more fun, to acquire butterfly nets
and set the whole family to work catch
ing butterflies. I remember it used to
be quite a la mode to indulge in this
hobby. We could thus add to our back
yard nature study of birds and small
mammals the lepidoptera.
Faithfully your reader, J. H. F."
* Il
Another reader called up to say that
the bird in question undoubtedly must
have been Cape May warbler, not
golden-crowned kinglet.
AS we recall. our correspondents
original bird had the black stripe on
top and white stripe on either side
with black markings extending back
from the eyes.
He talked about the breast being
yellowish shaded green.
The Cape May warbler may be seen
hereabouts as late as November 26, with
the average running through the first
week of october.
In fact, specimens have been seen
as late as December 16
The reader who called up said that
the Cape May warbler looks smaller
than the 5 to 5la inches long which
the books give it.
He said they feed from the under
side of the crab apple leaves at his
place. Nearby suburbs) They hover
in the air as they hunt for insects.
This corresponds with the description
of habits as given by the original OBJ
server
The colors of most warblers are duller
in the fall than in the summer.
So that may be why people do not
recognize them from the colored plates
in the books.
The Cape May warbler is definitely
bird which most observers, both male
and female, would describe as cute"
without the least hesitation.
The kinglets have porcelain quality
which sets them apart.
The Cape May warbler is about as
fearless as any bird can be. 1t is not
at all unusual to have one of them fly
into your hand.
This fine warbler is pure migrant
hereabouts. 1t was formerly rare in
spring, and somewhat less so In fall.
Since 1910, according to the author
tiles, it has been recorded every spring,
and sometimes is tolerably common
In the fall it often frequents the shade
trees in the city
1t is quiet bird, and so frequently
escapes the observation of even ardent
bird watchers. 1t is one of the species
which punctures grapes and sucks the
juice, and for this reason is regarded
with much disfavor by some persons.
But there are always persons to re-
gard with disfavor something or other.
and the fine Cape May warbler cannot
do much damage in this way, after all,
especially compared with the vast dam
age that man, himself, is doing to
himself the world around One shell in
vineyard would do more damage
than al the Cape May warhlers Ia
the yPivsfss.