Evening star., 1947-06-03
This and That
Bg Charles E. Trdce1UeH.
LIVINGSTON STREET

Dear sir:
For several weeks now the family has been
covertly watching two nests built in the shrub
berry close to the house that the sitting birds
one is a cardinal, the other thrasher-
could be observed without disturbing them or
frightening them. We had also seen the eggs,
four in the thrashers nest, three in the cardl-
nails, and felt sure that all was going well,
and that some day we would have the pleasure
of cautiously peeking at the baby birds and
seeing them fed by their parents before they
would be old enough to try their wings and
fend for themselves
But four days ago the cardinal was missing
from the nest and did not come back. After
waiting two days in the expectation that she
would return, close examination was made
of the nest and it was found to be absolutely
enpty-no eggs, no egg shells, no dead babies,
either in the nest or underneath. Two days
later exactly the same thing happened with
the thrasher. The birds have disappeared and
the nest is empty No signs of a birth or of a
tragedy We are perpleXed.
ut seems to us that if the eggs were broken
or the babies killed by maurauding birds-and
We have starlings jays and grackles that might
be guilty-they would have left some traces of
murder behind them. But it seems impossible
for the young to have been Matched and taught
to fly in one day, and have left under their
own power.
do birds ever conceal their babies under
their bodies until they are big enough to fly,
thus fooling curious humans into believing that
the eggs are still unmatched?
"Or in the case of tragedy would the parent
birds remove the dead babies or broken eggs
and give them decent burial?
I'VE are anxious to know what may have
happened and would welcome an answer
through your column
Yours sincerely, A. M"
t,o
birds under constant scrutiny tend to develop
traits and habits different from those used
when nesting in more secluded places
We believe from watching the mother blue
jay on her nest on the end of the curved
locust bough that it is possible for birds to
ceal the growth of the young in the way de-
scribed.
The mother jay was concealing her four
babies for a full two weeks after they were
hatched out.
Thus it might be that in the case described
by our correspondent the mother birds played
possum" in a sense, in an effort to throw
human watchers off the track
The mother jay keeps the nest sanitary as all
bird mothers 90, by digging down with her
bill and dragging up the excreta of the young
birds In some species, particularly the robin,
/ this is encased in what appears to be white
capsules. In other species, it is not encapsu-
lated. But in both cases there are two means
VI OlopOoal c1tliSI Wy GOSSkIls over Lie SlQe OF
the nest or swallowing. Let no sensitive
human writhe with disgust-the birds have
their own ways of living, and these ways are
ideally suited to them. They mean bird health,
and that is all any sanitary measures can guar
antee. The bird alimentary tract is exceedingly
short, and eating of excreted products does not
Earm them. Many persons have watched robins
and others fly away with or even eat such cap
sules and have wondered what they were
There is always chance that clean sweep
from a nest, with absolutely no signs of broken
shells, or limbs, etc. shows the presence of
that greatest of clean sweapers, man.
The desire to collect birds eggs is not un-
known, and at times humans who ought to
know better may, in a fit of wantonness do
much harm along these lines. Bird or ami
NAL maurauders would almost always leave
some traces behind them, but it would be
possible for fesh-eating squirrels or snakes to
make clean sweep of a nest without leaving
traces.
Bird mothers, as human mothers, have dif-
ferent ways of bringing up their young The
jay mother for instance spends great deal of
her time poking and prodding her babies
stirring them up, "as with a SPOON one
watcher said.
This probably is to give the young some exer-
else, to make them get the idea of being on
| their own, to change them gradually from
feeding Jumps to flying birds.