Evening star., 1945-09-10
This and That
BIZ Charles E. TraceDell

Two fine birds emerge from a recent
letter to this column. They are the
downy woodpecker and the red-winged
blackbird.
Your column" says this correspond
ent, rs my bird guide while I am in
America. Each evening I read 1t with
much enjoyment.
Can you identify this bird for me?
He is about sparrow size, black of body
and wing with gray or white bars on
wings.
He has a red comb or top-notch (as
I have heard you Americans sayD.
believe he walks up-side-down on tree
trunks
The one I saw was in some large
lilac bushes.
And who is the black fellow with red
wings? Sincerely. "A. M"
The downy woodpecker is the small
est of his family, and one Of the best.
The topknot of red Is not exactly
crest, in the sense that the cardinal
has q crest but Is rather bit of red
feathering which may be slightly raised
at times.
The downy, as it is affectionately
called, Is a great walker on trees,
sport in which he is sometimes joined
by the brown creeper.
The downy woodpecker is not the
real tree walking expert, however; that
title must go to the white breasted
nuthatch, which is as much at home
head-down as head-up.
1t Is only to the touch that the downy
quality of the feathers of the downy
woodpecker will be noticeable. 1t is
impossible to see that the feathers are
different from those of the feathers of
any other species.
The downy is a good insect catcher.
He is a great tree sanitarian, removing
apple tree borers and others in great
quantities.
More than Is per cent of his food is
composed of caterpillars. He eats less
than per cent of grain, and less than
per cent of fruit. OF the latter, very
little is cultivated.
All IN all, 1t may be seen that the
downy is one of our best birds. He is
particularly acceptable in the winter
garden, where he likes to eat suet.
which may be hung up for him. prefer
ably on tree trunks and branches.
With his friend, the brown creeper,
he spends much time walking over trees,
catching insects which have sought win
ter quarters.
In this way our trees are kept in
good condition. 1t is safe to say that
without the downy, the brown creeper
and the nuthatch, Americas trees would
be in much worse condition than they
are.
The red-winged blackbird is not seen
much in gardens, even in the suburbs.
but may be glimpsed now and then in
Rock Creek Park.
This is handsome bird, at one time
much more widely spread than 1t Is
today.
1t is a good-sized songster, about 81
inches long. At one time it was widely
hunted and killed, because it is grain
eatef. In various places it has been
called the -shouldered starting, the
red winged startling. the red-winged
oriole, and just plain redwing.
The birds love swampy places, and
there set up harems, each male with
several wives, each wife with its own
nest and brood. The family life is said
to be happy.
If our correspondent had given a city
or suburban location, we could have
been surer Of this Identification.
We would like to suggest that corre-
| spondents always sign their names and
| give full addresses as evidence OF good
| faith. We do not print names and ad-
dresses and use only street names with
out numbers, and will use neither II
| requested not to do %.