Evening star., 1945-12-24
This and That
By Charles e. Trdce10eH.
ARLINGTON, Va.

Dear Sir:
Your article is one of the first things
look for in The Evening Star. I have
noted many references to the English
sparrow, especially his beauty, which
rather surprises me. had not thought
OF him as more than ordinary in in
telligence and resourcefulness, which 1
have watched for the last % years. with
hundreds of them in my back yard.
Il would like to describe an English
sparrow episode which took place in
the high branches of large oak tree
close to my dining room window, fam
lily fracas between Tom and Maria, with
gleeful group of spectators, invited
probably by Tom, to witness the show
and learn how a refractory spouse
should be disciplined.
'It looked bad for Maria, cringing and
covering there, blood flowing and feath-
ers flying.
Il decided to break up that meeting
and save the female birds life.
Just as I started to open the win
doW-as sudden as bomb explosion
there was confusion of bird cries. a
blur OF feathers, and Maria had him by
the ear or eyelid or something.
There she was, swinging him back
and forth over the abyss. Tom kicked
little at first, but gave up and hung
limp.
"As for the spectators, they we're
gone. Every ringside perch was va
Gated the instant Maria blew up.
A few more vicious shakes and she
dropped him.
He went spinning down crafty like
one with no hope. I don't know whether
he made happy landing or not.
Sincerely, A.M.B"
English sparrows are so taken for
granted that even the ardent bird
watcher sometimes fails to see them as
they really are
A good diet, and the cleanliness of
the suburbs, combine to give these birds
clean look which they mostly lack
in the city.
Their feathers, with plenty of good
1ood, become clear and bright, and take
on sheen seldom seen where bird
feeding is not carried out purposely.
Naturally such we'll fed birds grow
larger, and their children get a good
start in life. 1t is perhaps not too much
1eeolng is kept up year after year these
specimens IN time will become super
sparrows, with both their resourceful-
ness and general intelligence increased.
The tendency to fight each other. so
often witnessed in the city, where the
competition for food is intense. has
rather overcome some observers, in that
they tend to think of this alone, rather
than the many good points of these
birds.
1t is also true that it is impossible
to see the better points of these crea-
lures in the city.
One may wonder, ofhand, if the best
points of any living thing can be un-
derstood in the city. The city does
something to the spirit of man. It is
too crowded. For the sake of humans
Ny. something ought to be done about
cities.
Wise birds-and wise people-leaye
cities, and go farther out. This. too.
creates problem, but it is much easier
solved
In the suburbs, cleaned by rustling
grass and leaves of shrubs, the English
sparrows lose some of their fighting
procllyities. They feed amicably with
cardinals, members of their own family.
They get along well enough with most
species.
In the cold they sing prettily for their
dinner, excelling in chorus work of a
high order, far removed from the
harsh chirp" which is credited to them
by most writer's. The cult of bird
watching ought not to include hate
against any species, but only under
standing and wide regard for the flying
miracles of nature.