Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-05-08
This and That
By Charles z. TrdceUell.
"BROOKEvILLE, Md.

Lear Slr.
Please write soon about sparrows
There are so many different kinds!
I find them fascinating.
rs the common English sparrow the
same as house sparrow? Does the fe-
male English sparrow mate sometimes
with the house sparrow-this question if
they are different kinds.
There is a sparrow now at my feed
ing box-I would call 1t tree sparrow,
but there is no black spot on his breast.
Otherwise, the markings are the same
as the tree Sparrow-plain gray breast.
II have never seen chickadee, though
have dozens of juncos and all kinds
of sparrows. Could it be I'm unable to
identify them?
Thank you daily for your column.
"Sincerly yours, j. w. S."
x%*
Sparrows are among our most inter-
esting birds. Those who say they do not
like them are making a mistake 1t Is
so easy to make such mistakes. The
world is full of them, perhaps it would
be better to say America is full of per-
sons who claim, and often vehemently,
that they do not like certain things
There are those who like jazz music,
but think they do not care for SYM
phonies. Others reverse this and loudly
assert that while they do not care for
Jazz they are very much enamored
of symphonic literature.
They might as well like both classes
of music, because each has its own pc
culiar merits.
It is much the same with birds. 1t
is difficult to understand the person
who claims to be great lover of cardi-
nails and mockingbirds, and yet grows
red in the face when some one mentions
that real American bird, the bluejay.
1t is this sort of thing, among many
factors, which leads to wars. How can
the peoples of the world, who do not
know each other, refrain from fighting
with each other when people who know
each other get angry over whether such
true American as the jay is a good"
bird?
Nineteen species of sparrows come to
the Washington area. They all belong
to the finch family, that is why the
English sparrow, or house sparrow, Is
classed with them here. Most experts
regard the English sparrows as weaver
finches
OF all these sparrows the English
sparrow is the most common.
The Is others are the vesper sparrow,
Savannah sparrow, grasshopper SPAR
row, Henslows sparrow Nelson's SPAR
row, lark sparrow, white-crowned SPAR
row, white throated sparrow, tree SPAR
row, chipping sparrow, field sparrow,
slate-colored junco, Montana junco,
Bachman's sparrow, song sparrow, Lin
coins sparrow, swamp sparrow and fox
sparrow.
OF all these the ones mostly seen are
the English sparrow, the song sparrow,
the white throated sparrow, the fox
sparrow and the slate -colored junco.
Some of the full list are common only in
migration.
1t may be realized that here the bird
lover has speciality which could be a
lifelong hobby. The various sparrows are
great weed-seed eaters, and during
breeding time account for many inim-
ical insects. Even the humble Eng
lish sparrow has been discovered to be
a great foe of the japanese beetle.
The female English sparrow does not
have black bib like the male, and
even he doesn't have 1t in the winter.
The female wears the year round a
neat dress of gray over the breast and
brown over the back and wings. She
u sedate little beauty.