Evening star., 1946-02-18
This and That
By Charles z. Trdce,ueH.

MI. o1EhLlNG, KY.
Dear Sir:
Have you ever seen what call polar
bear sparrows?
Numbers Of times this winter, when
1t was too cold to melt snow or ice.
except IN the sun, I've seen sparrows
bathe in the water by the side of
cake of ice. *
Our bird bath is on the ground with
background of shrubs and is always
in the sun when 1t shines They bathe
only on sunny days regardless of the
temperature. Today is SO degrees, and
cloudy, so they haven't gone near except
to drink.
MY husband and I enjoy your column
very much, but until this winter. when
we began watching the sparrows, we
thought you were just going to bat for
the under dog (bird when you praised
them.
Now we have come to the conclusion
that one misses lot by not watching
them, too.
THE birds hereabouts seem to be the
same species you have in Washington.
However, our squirrels are different.
because they never bother the birds
food.
I'VE have no special feeder, but use
stone slab that tops closed cistern,
which puts 1t only few inches from
the ground. We have both squirrels
and rabbits and had to give up raising
corn because they climb the stalk and
eat it before we know it is ready.
From birds to fish:
How does 10 years for the life of
tropical catfish stack UP against the
average age? I lost one that to nv
knowledge was more than that-how
much more I don't know, because I did
not know his age when I got him.
Sincerely, L. D. H."
-
ARLINGTON, Va.
Dear Sir:
Last year the mockingbird gave me
the same trouble that SO many others
report and was so red in the face that
I could cheerfully have wrung his neck
Last fall put another feeder on the
opposite side of the house as you sug-
gested. At first the mocker guarded both
places by finding perch where he could
watch the old feeder-and see birds going
toward the new one.
This new one Is in fir tree, just
outside the dining room window, and
hidden from all other directions.
Even the blue jays had always al
lowed themselves to be driven away from
the old feeder, but at the new one the
mocker could get SO close before being
seen by the other birds that one day he
made the mistake of catching a jay and
they fell down in the snow fighting furi-
ously.
The bully mocker was no match for
the blue jay at infighting and seemed
glad to escape with his life.
Since then Mr.. Bully stays at re-
spectful distance while the jays are feed
ing. Also he has given up trying to
keep the sparrows away-although Just
as savage as ever toward the starlings,
who have completely deserted both
feeders.
"The latter feed freely on bread and
scraps thrown in the yard
Very respectfully, r. w. L."
r
English sparrows are among the
"hathingest" of birds and this trait
ought to endear them to bathing hu-
mans. Truly, when they are watched
carefully, they turn out to be very in
teresting
The spleen often shown against them
is the result, mainly, of the bird books,
whose writer's, to follow "line," re-
fused to look at them.
Properly regarded, these sparrows are
blrds as well as any. II they run native
species out OF our yards, it must be re-
membered that the landscape contains
much more than the individuals garden
and that If bluebirds and others are
driven away, they go to the woods,
where they probably are better of.
Ten years is about the limit of life
Tor the small tropical catfish kept In
an average home aquarium. Such an
age shows very good care, real knowl-
edge OF good tank management
Feeding on the ground is one Of the
best ways. Certainly the birds find the
good earth Is good dinner table as any.