Evening star., 1946-11-07
This and That
BY Charles Z. TraeetpeH.
'BETHEDA. Nd.

4 bETdH5DA. Mdsx
Can you tell me which bird has been
doing all the whistling recently?
This sound resembles . small boy
whistling, or just any one whistling.
II know it is bird because nothing
else could be whistling in the lilacs.
The sound has gone on every day, but
for the life of me cannot make out
what is doing it.
Yours truly, c. K. T."
n
The bird probably is the starting
Many people are startled at this. Isn't
the startling supposed to be worthless?
How could such a creature whistle so
delightfully."-?
Yes, the fact is that this is one of the
whistling est birds of all.
Detractors of the species should real
ize that it Is not for nothing that
European peoples without exception ad-
mire and love the starting.
He will be found mentioned with afiec-
ton by James Barrie in his books.
The startling has place along with
the thrush in one sentence in Joseph
Conrad's 1.-The Arrow Of Gold"
Let us not forget that as an individual
bird, the old startling is not bad at all,
not at all.
1t is just his hocking proclivities that
make him at times a nuisance In this
country.
Over in the old countries, the starting
has many more natural enemies, in
cluding owls and weasels.
These keep the numbers down, so that
they, the birds, do not become a nui-
sance to anybody.
X X X
The Whistling of the starting has been
Investigated by various authorities.
1t has been likened to that of typical
small boy, and usually occurs in the
spring.
The unusually warm weather prevail
ing at the time our correspondent heard
the bird was what set it off.
Then, no doubt, it INDUCED in its
typical sweet whistles, so unlike any
other sounds it makes that the hearer
was unable to associate the sound with
the bird.
At all seasons of the year, hereabouts,
any unusual and continued wfistling
may be laid to the starting.
This will be whistling, not in the least
lAhC d41 dSCl C6C JILL Icl VI SCllS.
There is certain almost human
something to the sounds. They will be
varied, so that the listener feels sure
some boy is at the bottom of it all.
But, as Our correspondent says, small
boys 40 not usually congregate in lilac
bushes!
At the Halloween time, various mock
ingbirds were having fine time, too,
with their springlike songs.
The mocker initiates other birds, of
course, and can be told by that alone, as
well as by his continuous performance.
The startling is straight whistler.
Although he varies his performance a
bit, he is no such artist as the mocker,
and does not have the continuous flow
and change of that bird.
The startling is rather a bird out for
a good time, and is somewhat astonished
at his own ability to whistle sweetly, so
he does it over and over again.
With SO much Ill said of the bird, it
behooves the right thinking person to
credit him with a good job in his
whistling. We must, above all, try to
be fair, with man or beast or bird.
There Is too much intentional! unfair
ness in the world today, to say nothing
of the unintentional brand, for any
good person to add q mite to it. The
only thing for him or her to do is at
all times to speak good where possible.
In that way, maybe such persons will
be able to do more than they suspect to
bring humanity back on an even keel