Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-21
This and That
BY Charles Z. Trace1reU,
"TAKOMA PARK. Nd.

Dear Sir:
Yesterday morning, and again this
morning, We had q new bird at our
feeder. After thumbing through our
Reeds Bird Guide we have decided it
probably Is pine warbler, although it
doesn't exactly At the description and
picture.
This choice was made after con-
sidering the yellow-belied fycatcher,
the goldanch, the yellow-throated and
the white-eyed vireos.
The reason we are not sure 1t Is a
pine warbler is that there are no confer
Gus trees on our lot, and only single
ones nearby, except for . tract about
block south. which is heavily covered
with pine.
1.-THE bird was alone both times, and
did not have the complete upper bar Of
white on the wing, a. shown in the
guide-1ust . short patch that went
possibly = third Of the way across the
wing, and there seemed to be more
patches Of white below the second wing
bar than shown in Reeds, a. well rs 4
greater contrast between the color Of
the wing and tail and that Of the head
and back.
do you think We are right in calling
1t pine warbler
VERY truly yours, r. @. c."
Probably not.
Nesting sites Of pine warblers are al
ways in pine trees, but in migration the
bird may be found In warbler flocks In
any kind Of tree growth.
The trouble is that this warbler Is
never seen here, even in migration, later
than October "a.
Average dates for migrations are
March 20 to october 6.
The pine warbler Is regarded as q
tolerably common local summer resident,
found wherever there are pine woods.
In its winter range, this bird is
sociable, and not inclined to go 1t alone.
Our correspondents bird may be a
goldf1nch in one of its many dresses.
Many persons do not realize how vari-
able the wild canary may look at diff
erent times of the year.
The adult male in summer Is In gen.
eral color lemon or canary yellow; the
forehead and crown, with most of the
wings and tail, black: with great deal
of white on the wings, especially at the
edges; the bill, orange or orange-yellow,
tipped with black; iris, brown.
The adult female in summer is olive
brown above, or sometimes grayish, with
tinges of green; the wings and tail,
black, marked with white; underparts
gray-white, tinged with yellow in front
and on sides. But occasionally the
underparts are dirty yellow.
The admit male in winter lie similar n
the adult female, but the wings and tail
are deeper black, with whitish mark
ings more conspicuous.
The adult female in winter is similar
to the summer female, but more
brownish.
The young are somewhat like the
winter adults, but still more brownish
All the wing markings are pale CHINA
mon, which Is the general celebration OF
these young birds.
The goldfinch is always worth looking
for, since it Is most agreeable and
nkable bird, coming at unexpected
times, especially dropping into individual
yards during the winter.
Some Of them, but not all, win visit
feeding stations, where they prefer the
better sorts OF seeds, such as are found
In mixtures commonly sold as "wildbird
food"
But they do nicely in any yard where
some weedy growths are left. Chick
weed is d favorite Persons who like
birds should not be too scrupulous In
cleaning up their yards In the fall. Old
canes with seed pods often save the lives
Of such small birds, sticking up over the
snow, they AFFORD the very spot Of food