Evening star., 1946-05-31
This and That
By Charles +. TrdceUeH.
Z. ."TAKQMA PARK.

Dear sir:
Il read in your article about a reader
who had q mockingbird fly to the win
dow to tell him that it wanted some
thing to eat.
# can beat that.
I have mockingbird that follows
me around the house, coming to first
one window after the other.
He always tries the kitchen window
first, but If I am not there he comes
to the living room and peers In, and
II am not there he files around to
the dining room and looks In.
80 far he has not tried the upstairs
windows, but am convinced that some
day he will.
do you think this shows intelli-
gence, or what? We have been at this
address for many years and have had
many mockngbirds come to the place,
but this is the only one to act In this
way. Yours, M. G. c."
1t Is difficult to say where intelli-
gence begins and ends among birds.
This column was taken to task by
steady reader because It credited star
This correspondent writes: 'The big
gest puzzle to me is your assigning great
intelligence to the starlings for the COM
mon automatic instincts in their vari-
ous doings
II believe this is because he is the
only gregarious bird the city observer
can see
"All the tiocking birds have the simul-
taneous takeoff, the keeping of exact
positions In flight, and the posting Of
sentinels.
Migration is also completely instinc-
tive, as much so as uniform honey cells
are to bees.
Startling migration is largely expedi-
ent. They go from country nesting
places to city shelters In winter regard
less Of direction, one big flock being
said to go to Montreal each winter.
starting flight is the average. They
are bit quicker on the takeof than
some and their gliding downward to
the roosts is indeed spectacular, and
they will perform swift gyrations In a
very short period when frightened, but
are much slower travellers than most of
our native birds.
Birds dunking food Is big Joke,
Starlings mimic grackels. The cracks,
as once saw, will in turn dunk
kernel of corn, grub, and q piece of
cooked beef.
"A watching starting solemnly dunked
piece Of oyster shell repeatedly, and
finally dropped it in bewilderment.
Those that have been in grackle
f1ocks, as they often are, will, 1t is true.
often be seen dunking bread because
bread Is the thing they are most often
seen with. Oftener than not they lose
1t by soaking 1t to pieces"
So there you are! It seems rather
unfair to claim that everything star
ling does is because he has seen a
grackle do 1t. -
BY such reasoning, any one might be
deprived of credit.
We rather prefer to believe that star
lings have plenty of brains and know
how to use them, regardless Of what
they may or may not have seen other
species do.
When 1t comes to the mockingbird,
there is a real bird intelligence, we in
sist.
This species is capable of real reason
ing.
When he wants food, he knows where
it is and he uses his head to figure out
how to get 1t. He knows that 1t is
inside, and so he thinks up stunt to
induce those inside to come out with
the food.
1t will do no good for any one to say
that he has seen some other bird look
in q WirdoW-and rJrestot oaIt came
food!
No, the mockingbird reasons the thing
out, and initiates q line Of action which
gets the desired result.
4 scientist could do no more.