Evening star., 1946-12-13
This and That
By Charles Z. Trdcetpell,

Perhaps native American songbirds
are not as easily run out Of their nest
ing sites by English sparfcws and
! starlings as many have belopeds
= Extensive ttsearches on bluebirds III
recent years show that they are well
able to hold their own with common
sparrows.
The picture presented in some
quarters, that our beautiful native blue
bird is completely 1t the mercy OF the
former street gamins, may be subject
to revision.
1t may turn out, on more complete
longtime observation, that starlingS
too, are not the menace that they have
been held up to be.
Both species are sregarious, hardy
and persistent, and 1t s easily under
stood that smaller and more timid birds
may be harmed.
The same thing, however might be
said against larger songbirds, in rela-
ton to smaller Ones and exactly the
same end results noted.
Hence enthusiastic bird watchers
who also try to be scrupulously fair to
all living creatures will not be able to
get excited at the mere hurled charges
against either sparrows or starlings.
Take 'em as they come"
That is, or at least should be. the
motto of the backyard bird watcher.
This observer is not in the business
Of watching birds for profit.
He writes no doctrinal thesis on the
matter, nor does he much care whether
he is right or wrong in his observa-
tions.
Nothing much depends on what he
sees, Or thinks he sees.
He is willing to admit, marvellous to
say, that he may be wrong"
Think Of that, in the modern world,
a man willing and ready to admit that
he may be wrong!
1t is unheard of.
Most persons nowadays claim always
to be right about everything.
Though they never may have given
a single minute of thought about
certain subject, just let some one ask
an opinion, and they are ready to pop
up instantly with full-blown one.
Ever thereafter they are eager to
grow red in the face, even lose friends,
to uphold what they arrived ct 90
suddenly, and without any background
for any sort of Judgment at all
One may believe that this is one Of
the bad products OF the modern tenn
per, and in trying to seek its source,
one may feel that modern universal
education, so-called, is to blame.
We are given sn1atterings Of many
to- thof i,. hA ayaI
we come to believe that an educated
man should know at least little about
everything.
Hence our willingness to have an
opinion, no matter how little We know
about it, or whether, God help us,
we know anything At al about the
matter.
Bird watchers in their own yards
are fortunate and sensible people.
In the first place, they are not sub
ject to group or herd pressures, as
those who take bird walks may be.
The garden watcher il his own man,
and stands on his own feet, looks out
OF his own window, and sees what he
sees, large or small, with his own eyes.
-, other words, he Is able to believe
it, when he sees bluebird stand on
and drive away band Of sparrows
trying TO take over his own nesting
box
He sees q sleepy downy. woodpecker.
wanting to 60 to bed before dark, try
to take over q bluebird house.
It is native bird against native bird,
but no one had ever mentioned before
that such thing could happen.
It was always rascallyl starting, or
bandit English sparrow, driving poor
defenseless bluebirds away from their
homes, therefore sparroWs should be
shot and starlings have their necks
wrtlng.
Something tells him that such pic
lures will have to Be tiansed, IN the
interests Of fair and plain observation.
=. -