Evening star., 1944-11-25
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceueH.
"TAKOMA PARK. D. G.

Dear Sir:
Among the many delightful habits of
the English sparrows I do not recall
that you have written about the Way
they sWoop across the yard, especially if
there are two feeding stations in opera
ton
1T took me long time to realize that
these are good birds, just as you have
said so often, but now they are one of
my chief delights. Like the poor, they
are with us always and are doing some
thing to justify their feeding.
I am sure they eat enough weed
seeds and insects to pay for their food
AS you have stated, their choral singing
in the afternoon sunshine is pure de-
light to the ear and eye.
The way they festoon themselves
along the canes of rose vines is some,
thing to see, and then there is this
swooping from one side of the yard. It
seems to be pure sport with them. flying
Tor the Joy of flying, one following an
other
They will perch and sing on one side
OF our yard, then one viii leave the vine
and fly across, whereupon the entire
flock will follow very quickly AS far as
1 can see there Is no real leader but
simply any bird which happens to leave
starts the rest of them off.
I have watched this swooping 20 on
for at least dozen trips, and I think
the sparrows get great deal of fun out
OF the process, at least that is the way
interpret their gestures and singing.
Very truly yours, E. R."
sometimes we are accustomed to
thinking of masses of people and ami
mails as modern phenomenon. brought
about by dictatorship
The birds, however, had the idea first.
And it was good idea with them, af-
fording simple happiness and to the on
locker unalloyed pleasure, provided his
or her mind was properly attuned to the
beauty of natural things
Today masses of people fail to have
this beauty, because they are not natu-
raj, but proceed from the psychology of
mans mind, which certain experts have
Shown is sort of lumber room contain
ing many ugly things.
The massed flights of birds, such as
that of the English sparrows, and the
flights of starlings, contain no ugliness.
for they proceed from a certain neces-
sity of the creature
ThlS necessity when We consider SPAR
rows, seems to lie in their pure gregari-
BUSINESS. They really like to be together.
They are not forced to fly by command,
but by an inner necessity.
They know nothing of government by
compulsion, the modern phenomenon,
whose master aspect is to take your
money away from you before you get it.
mat, indeed, was stroke of genius
which could only have come from the
lumber room of the human mind.
The birds, fortunately for them, have
no such psychology. Theirs is govern
ment by instincts, which instincts have
been provided, or have provided them
selves, for their benefit.
Since birds do not have souls, as far as
we know, there Is nothing in their lives
which calls for them to be together when
they would rather not.
There Is no outside bird to make them
do anything. What they do, they do be-
cause they wish to do it.
Their massed singing in the afternoon,
as 1nstanced by our correspondent is one
OF these things. They meet together to
sing because they are full of good food
and melody.
II their melody is not the thrushes'
music, well, who said it was? There is
no need that 1t should be- There is room
enough in this world for both the SPAR
row music and the thrush music, for the
symphony and the Hawaiian melody.
The heart which knows appreciation as
its first rule grasps as eagerly at one as
at the other.