Evening star., 1944-10-23
This and That
By Charles E. TrdcepeH.

ALEXANDRIA, Va.
Dear Sir:
The other day while sitting in my
living room, I was startled by rather
loud noise, and Immediately a dark
object passed the window.
Il went outside and there was a good
sized bird lying on the pavement. We
picked it up. 1t was bleeding and quite
dead,
1T had long, sharp bill and a long,
square tail. 1t had some yellow feathers
on its neck.
What do you think made 1t fly
straight into a brick wall hard enough
to kill itself?
My brother thinks it may have been
shot before it struck the side of the
house. Isn't it unusual for a bird to
lose its sense of direction?
Il enjoy your interesting column
very much.
Sincerely yours, E. E. McF."
y
Birds fly into walls more often than
one could think possible.
Such traffic accidents among them
are very few, after all, in comparison
with the many millions of miles flown.
They seem to be caused partly by mis-
calculation, and partly by some prior
mlshap which has caused the bird to
lose its sense of balance momentarily.
Wounding by bullet or other blow
would be enough to make bird fly into
wall or window.
Several times year some hasty flyer
thumpS into screen just back of
feeding station by window.
The sound set up is something like
the boom of a bass drum.
The first time this occurred we ran
out to see if the bird had injured itself,
but we might just as well have remained
indoors, because it had not-the screen
had caught it as nicely as the big net
in the circus holds the occasional per-
former who falls.
Illness brought on by lack of food
may cause songster or game bird to
lose its sure sense of flight Many birds
at migration time rather overdo their
wing muscles, with the result that they
are not as sure winged" as they ordi-
narily are.
Plain starvation, of course, at last will
reach the point where the poor creature
falls, and if this happens in front of
wall it may fly squarely into it.
We once saw wood thrush in April
fly low across the street and onto an
old-fashioned front porch, from which
1t was picked up dead. This was in early
April, at least two weeks before the rest
Of its brothers and sisters arrived on
April %, the normal date.
There was little doubt that this par
ticular bird had flown North before it
was wise to do SO, and had been unable
to pick up enough food in it's fight.
A bob-white one summer evening flew
squarely into the side of a neighbor's
house, and was picked up dead. There
was no evidence of bullet wound or
other injury 1t seemed a pure miscal-
culation on the birds part.
This idea was reinforced a few min
utes later, when a cardinal flew down
our own driveway and made a sharp
turn around the corner of the house.
1t only missed the wall by feather
Tor a second we thought we were wit
Messing another tragedy in birdland. It
was impossible to believe that the cardi-
nal negotiated the turn so closely on
purpose. 1t was plain that it had nearly
run into the wall but happily had missed
doing so by the narrowest fraction of
an inch.
In the main, however, the birds are
sure flyers. They skim easily between
buildings and trees, and seldom so much
as brush a feather against them.
1t is always good idea to pick up a
fallen bird and look it over closely for
any signs of BIB bullets or other mis-
siles. If there is any sign of life, the
bird should be secluded. and offered a
drop of water with medicine dropper.
Sometimes rest overnight is all that is
needed to send it on its way. The other
day janitor found a carrier pigeon on
the roof OF The Star Building. The
bird could not fly. He gave 1t a little
water, and some lettuce and bread. After
1t had drunk and eaten, 1t fiew away.