Evening star., 1945-07-16
This and That
By Charles E. TracepeH.
COLUMBIA ROAD.

COLUMBIA ROAD.
Dear Sir:
L have enjoyed your column so much
since being in Washington and you have
answered SO many questions for me.
The other day some one wrote you
about the grackle and they also men
toned the starting
Aren't they somewhat similar. or
maybe they are not the two am con-
fusing?
THE ones I have seen here and in
the vicinity of Norfolk, Va, and Mem
phis, Tenn, are large, glistening black,
with a long tail and sharp yellow bill
and walk instead of hop.
The ones in Charleston, w. Va. are
similar, but not SO well groomed-about
as large, but a shorter tail and not
quite so sharp bill.
Their young are brown but soon turn
black. The main difference is their
shorter tail. They like to fight among
themselves, with great deal of bicker-
ing over the bird bath, for all arrive and
leave together, with only a stray one
now and then
They will grab food from the other
birds without harming them, though
the cardinals, appearing to have a great
dislike for them, call their bluff and
chase them away from the feeding sta
ton.
Assorted bird seed doesn't strike their
fancy as much as bread, meat and
something they find on the lawn. We
have always called them grackles-in-
correctly, no doubt, if the birds of SINH
lar description here are that.
I have only seen two of the WASH
tngton species in my part of West Vir-
ginia and none of the birds of nv State
here.
What do we have in West Virginia.
surely not the missing link of the bird
kingdom?
Sincerely, M E. p"
4
We believe the bird our correspondent
talks about mainly is the starting, so
familiar to Washingtonians.
This is the bird which some persons
insist on calling blackbird.
StarllngS were introduced into this
country in 1890. They are walkers. and
during the breeding season have
bright yellow bill.
The young are speckled.
The adult startling is given as inches
long, although he seems longer, and
is generally described as a black bird
mot blackblrO with yellow bill.
The purple grackle is 1871 inches
long.
He is glistening black purple bird
with yellow eye.
And that eye is about the meanest in
all birdland.
1t fairly gives him away. too. for he
Is murderouS fellow, getting genuine
pleasure out of manning and killing
the young of other species.
The boat-tailed grackle is 16 inches
long. The male is glossy black, the fe-
male is sooty brown above and light
brown below.
This one is often called "jackdaw"
in the South, especially along the coast.
Grackles, too, walk instead of hop.
The purple grackle of the Atlantic
Coast districts, including the District
OF Columbia, becomes the bronzed
grackle of the Rocky Mountains. Down
in Florida they have still smaller form
called, naturally enough, the Florida
grackle
Grackles love grain, nearly half of
their diet consisting of it. For this
reason they are not loved by farmers.
During the breeding season, along with
all species, they feed their young on
worms and insects Grub worms are
a favorite at this time, so the bird does
some good for mankind as he goes along.
The starting always leaves scouts,
usually one or two, which appear before
the main body and often linger after it..
1t is one of the most intelligent of
birds, and its feat of forming new
migration routes in America is regarded
by psychologists as remarkable.
A curious habit of the boat-tailed
grackles is that of the males fiocking
together Immediately incubation has
begun. The mothers bring UP the young
and finally introduce them to the
fathersl In wartime this is no novelty
to the human race, either.