Evening star., 1946-12-10
This and That
BIZ Charles =. Tracetoell.

Hank, who is about three years old,
was watching the birds, when he sud-
denly called from the window, Here is
d monmy cardinalr'
His mother asked how he knew.
because she has hnstick on"
promptly responded this observing mod
ern youth.
The TN almosioolesx bill of thu
female cardinal d more eAsily dis
tinkuished than the BILL Of the male,
which d much the sAint color but sur
rounded ~ black,
rev birds attract as much attention
on the local scene, winter or summer,
as these. The fash Of the male, and the
calm beauty of the mother. bird, tend to
Get them apart.
Many watchers in time come to prefer
the female cardinal. Her quiet loveli-
ness, like some old shawl Of mingled
colors, makes more Of an appeal. over
the years than the sheer color OF her
mate.
This Is one of the few bird pairs where
both sing. and we'll.
The subtle colors OF the mother bird
are best seen At window feeding
station II, the cold. Such station may
be fxed to the house and sill, or placed
on stake few feet away.
This close position will allow the
watcher to see the beautiful blend of
soft colorings In the mother bird, as well
as her "lipstick" BILL.
one Of our own prize memories Of bird
feeding II OF d mother cardinal with .
bead Of Ice on her head.
She was seated on rhododendron
leaf. It had been sleeting that night,
and All that was left on the bird was
this small piece Of ice squarely on top
Of her head.
Just how the birds manage to go
through such nights must always re-
main D mystery. Their temperature is
high, OF course, 1o3 degrees or even
more In some species. and their feather
structure tends to shed both water and
snow. Usually they manage to get be-
meath some bough or old leaves, and
these will keep some snow or rain off
them, since they are not very large,
after all.
Cardinal families often reveal the
change In bird population In given
neishborhood better than any other
species.
It Is q common belief Of those who
feed the birds year after year that
their BIRDS are the same all the time,
but perhaps this u more fiction than
fact.
Cardinals, being 30 conspicuous, are
easily counted, and careful check on
thsse birds will show that there is a
constant change year after year.
one fall We had 3 dozen males and
their mates in the yard.
The next year we had only six birds,
al told.
That summer we had several cardinal
families brought to the feeding station,
but In the winter only one pair re-
r1ained.
Such changes would not be noticed
among a gang OF common sparrows.
Since these birds are fond OF sun
flower seeds, it might be supposed that
they would remain where they are put
out for them, but evidently this is not
the case.
Still, even one pair 10 enough, the
cardinal ID such beauty, 80 well liked,
ana 10 interesting. 1T ID recalled that
this was the Arst American bird to at
tract the attention Of the men Of the
Old World.
Our own colonists, unfortunately, used
the redbird as target, on which to
practice their skill with their long rifles.
Such was their nAtknAn1hip that 1t
wAi 1 wonder these bright birds were
not completely wiped out.
The Ainelioration Of manners, coming
with more schooling and social affairs,
ana i general settling down Of the new
country led to demand for protection
Of the cardinals ana other native birds.
Today Daddy and Mofnfny Cardinal
are fayorites Of bird lovers everywhere.
Books have been written about them,
and every household H glad to have
them part of the garden. They no
longer are Gagged, but IRE protected and
cherished. as they should Be. TOO many
admirers, however, tend to forget the
female cardinal. n the splAnd0f q her
hrielt mAto. One easy way 10 spot
her u BY her slpstick" bin.