Evening star., 1944-11-09
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,pell.
"OXON HILL ROAD S.E

DE
Dear sir:
Your correspondent in last nights
Star says he wants to see how the local
birds look. I know where he can find
them, not alive but stuffed! At the
Natural History Building of the Ma
tional Museum. in the basement is fine
collection of District of Columbia birds
and beasts. At least it used to be there,
as 1 brought up my three boys (who now
are helping to win the war; to study
nature and made frequent trips to the
museum with them
THE D. C. collection is to the right
of the central hall as you enter the
building from Constitution avenue at
Tenth street. One of the boys con-
tributed ground skink' to the mu-
scum! And he was very proud to have
his name printed in the museum cat
alog. Sincerely yours, M. w. j."
The collection instanced by our cor
respondent is often used to settle the
species of an unknown bird.
1t Is good court of last resort, un-
fortunately known to too few persons
interested in bird life.
Stuffed birds, properly prepared and
mounted as these are, retain all the color
and markings of,life.
They have lost life, and so a great
deal of the peculiar quality which makes
them so intense on the wing and perch
Still they give the observer the two
points which most persons use in trying
to describe bird, its coloration and its
size.
If the amateur bird lover can say that
an unknown bird is "about the size of
sparrow" or lis larger than robin" and
can give its main color features and
their placement, he has gone a long way
to enable himself or others to identify
the creature.
We have never felt that the silhouette
method of bird Identification is as good
as the common-sense one of color, size
and difference, II any, from known
birds which resemble 1t.
The outline method is good for large
water birds and hawks, but for the small
songsters which frequent our gardens
and the woods and fields 1t is not so
good, because most of US do not look at
birds in that manner.
We cannot get over the colors, and
this Is good, because there is no feature
OF bird life as appealing or as distinctive.
Even the small child sees the rusty
breast of the robin and the blue of the
jay. He Is fully cognizant of the color
Of the cardinal and the brown tone Of
the sparrows.
In watching birds in the garden. and
especially those which come to feeding
stations, 1t is often impossible to see
their silhouette, or outline, owing to the
varied background against which the
birds are seen and into which they
blend. This blending is often their best
The skink Is . sort of lizard, often
called scorpions" In the South.
The blue tailed skink is the COM
mcnest form In the Eastern United
States It has long whip tail and
greatly resembles snake with legs.
It y usually found under log. Young
ones are brown or slate gray, with five
pale stripes on the back and bright
blue tail
As they mature the head develops q
pink tinge, which in old specimens
becomes red. The body stripes often
disappear in old age.
There are many forms Of lizards.
Lizards are reptiles, whereas sala-
manders are amphibians.
Every one Is familiar with the little
| chAmeleons Horned toads belong to the
lizard family. The famous CHA monster
y one OF two poisonous lizards.
There are some charming passages
about the horned toad in william
Sazoyan's NY Name n Aram," which
may now Be purchased In ! 25-cent
paper edition, book Of large appeal to
al who appreciate simplicity IN writing.