Evening star., 1945-01-20
This and That
By Charles E. TraceUeu.
CHESTNUT STREET.

Dear Sir:
"A long tail is undoubtedly an asset
at times but then agan it may be a
liability-as of this morning, following
that sleet storm in the small hours.
Our two mockingbirds, waiting as
usual on the tree nearest the second
story window sill feeder for their morn
ing handout of raisins, seemed rather
sluggish, and second glance showed
more white than usual on tail and wings.
"A third look showed the white to be
ice-a solid cake holding many of the
tail feathers together Even after a
stoking with ralsins it took long and
careful preening to remove the deposit
Later on I noticed several song and
white-throat sparrows with very dis
heveled tails, due, no doubt, to their
efforts to dislodge the ice coating.
should think that in the case of an un-
derfed bird such deposit would be suf-
flcient to cause death
Il believe that one mockingbird to a
feeding ground is the usual winter ar
rangement, and one, the monarch of all
he surveyed has always been our quota
until this year.
Now we have two, and while they oc-
casionally do bit of slapstick if both
happen to alight on the little feeder at
the same time, still they always arrive
together from the same direction. perch
on the same branch and leave at the
same time.
once l saw one accept raisin from
the other-or perhaps he took it. How
ever, they certainly do not apear to be
two males, and We are wondering if
mamma having become used to her
raisin rations last summer, did not de-
eide deliberately to stay on and keep
papa company through the winter.
"Or might it conceivably be father and
son, for the whole family was raisin-fed
all last summer. and could have ac-
quired the taste? Would the male still
be friends with grown son?
Il have never been able to distinguish
between male and female Knockers, so we
are guessing. These two act just as
the pair last summer did. They perch
facing the window on the nearest tree
until raise the sash and offer hand
full of raisins
Then the braver of the two takes a
quick fight toward me and hovers in
the air, but is not quite daring enough,
co ASctiiib w iiAn POoG AL ttlC lllCc.
Then l throw a raisin and both dart
down after it, occasionally nipping at
each other if a second one doesn't fol-
low quickly enough.
They have learned to watch for this
toss out and I believe would in time
gain confidence and take it from my
hand if I had more time to cultivate
their acquaintance.
LAS it is, I deposit the raisins in the
feeder and close the window Imme-
diately one or the other alights in the
feeder and cranes his neck toward me
watching me warily. Before swallowing
two or three raisins he goes through
ritual that looks absurdly like en-
barrassment.
still gazing at me- less than feet
from him, but behind the glass he
raises both wings in a slow stretch,
shuf1les bit, repeats the wing stretch
and then eats. BY this time the other
one arrives to go through the same mo-
tions. Sincerely. M. J. r. r."
xx -
Usually the female mockingbird is
smaller and paler than the male.
But not much, SO that it is often diff
ficult or even impossible to tell them
apart.
The males have bit more white in
wings and tail than the females.
The belligerency of many of the mock
ers which stay here all winter leads
most observers to think of them as
males.
This is carry-over of the birds typi-
cal attitude in nest guarding during
spring and summer
Mostly when we have seen two in the
cold months they were fighting each
other, and we deduced that they were
Of the male persuasion, since 1t is the
male animal which insists on fighting
the world around
We have always thought that females,
having more sense than to fight, also
have enough sense to 60 south for the
winter, leaving cold Washington to their
silly mates.