Evening star., 1946-03-23
This and That
By Charles E. TrdcetDell.

SILVER SPRING, Md.
Dear Sir:
Tell me again what bird it is that
sings the 'pinwheel' song. I have been
hearing 1t lately, and did not clip that
column.
This morning at dawn I heard It
sung by its rightfpl author, and then I
heard a mockingbird, who had been
carrying on at a great rate. begin to
initiate it.
"The mockingbird tried it two or three
times, at first mixing it up with the
rhythm of the song he had Just been
singing, but presently he got it, and be-
labored the air with it.
He would listen awhile, then COPY,
and when he finally caught on, he kept
it up so persistently that he simply
drove the real singer off the air. It
was a fragrant and unmistakable ex-
ample of monopolizing the atmosphere.
This morning heard for the first
time this year song I have never been
able to identify. It is song as full of
woe as the mourning doves, but it be-
longs to a small bird; its voice quality
is like the phoebe's except that it is not
reedy or gutteral, but piercingly clear.
Mi, sol, sol, sol, sol, sol it sings
'The first sol is sharper than the
familiar interval, each following sol is
slightly lower, so that the repeated note
drops almost imperceptibly, with per-
haps quarter note difference between
first and last It is indescribably sad,
unforgettably sweet. have never been
able to get glimpse of the singer.
II know that there are records of bird
songs, but have been unable to get any
information about them in music stores.
You have probably printed the source in
your column, but would you do it again
for this years new crop of bird watch
ers? "Felicitations from s. H. H."
y 4 * X
Our correspondents first bird Is the
Carolina wren, her second the white
throated sparrow.
The Carolina wren is the largest of all
wrens and the most interesting. Even
the familiar house wren must take Sec
ond place, perhaps-let us insist on that
perhaps-to the Carolina species.
1t is large, full of life, full of fun and
song. It's song is LULU as some say,
giving the impression of going around
and around, just as the old-fashioned
pinwheel, or pinniwheel, did in the
hands of ambitious small fry of the
gay 90s.
We can recall small pinwheel which
remained on the windowsill of house
at Sixteenth and o streets all the time
we were growing up. AS far as we
know, it is there yet.
There was another of the older houses
in that vicinity which held doll on a
windowsill, and that doll, too, was there
in all sorts of weather for many years.
The white -throated sparrow is one of
the best, beauty, well behaved, get
ting along nicely with all other species,
and musician of note.
His sad song is unique, having in
trigued most bird lovers at some time or
other. Stewart Edward White wrote
"One man know he nearly drove crazy.
To that man he was always saying,
And he never heard the man say drink
and the - Toward the last my
friend used wildly to offer thousand
dollars if he would, If he only would,
finish that sentence
To Mr.. White, himself, the song
seemed to be, "Ah! Poor Canada, Cam
ada, Canada"
The records made by Dr. Brand have
been put into an album, and may be
secured. or at least could have been Sc
cured at one time, from the Gramo-
phone Shop In New York City. We have
not heard these records, but one should
not expect too much of recorded bird
songs. They are very difficult to record.
There also were in existence several old
acoustical records whistled by an expert,
but whether these can still be secured
we do not know.