Evening star., 1947-12-19
This and That
By Charles E. Trace,DeU.
ARLINGTON. Va.

AH11NClON, va.
Dear Sir:
Write some more about the cardinal This
Is my favorite bird. and I like to see it in
print as we'll as in my yard
"Au the birds are good. but this one strikes
me as the very best Of the lot. a magnificent
fellow with fine wife and nice children
His home life is of the best, and he conducts
himself as an exemplary gentleman wherever
he is. Not for him is the rough way of the
common sparrows, or the bustly bravado of
the starting.
"The cardinal minds his own business, and
yet he is In no way sissy: he knows when
to give bis wife gentle slap, when he thinks
she deserves it.
II cannot view this favorite bird of mine
without thinking. OF his mate too. She is a
beauty in her own right. perfect mother, and
fine to have around.
1--WE who live in the beautiful suburban sec
tions Of this. our favorite city, are fortunate In
having these wonderful birds.
IF there Is anything new you can tell US
about them. think it would be fine to have it..
with best wishes, am
Very truly, I. x. F."
Our cardinal belongs to the finch family, in
which are listed the sparrows-of which l9
species come to the District of Columbia and
vicinity-the grosbeaks, buntings, towhees and
siskins.
Wonderful BIRDS all Of these, so it is no WON
der the cardinals excite the admiration of our
correspondent and many others.
All these birds have the same type bill, short
and conical.
To really know your nnches requires some
sort Of field key
Even to be familiar with our sparrows Is 4
task; not many persons know more than the
English sparrow, the song sparrow and the
white -throated sparrow.
If birds are known by the company they
keep; the little common sparrows, often scorned
by persons who pride themselves upon being
eat familiarly at every feeding station with the
gorgeous cardinals.
No sight in window watching is any better
than that Of the female cardinal holding q big
sunflower seed in her mandibles.
The way she does this is sight to behold,
provided you are interested in birds; she looks
50 solemn, almost comical, except that in the
life of the wildbirds there is nothing funny
about feeding.
Food is, with them as with us, all important.
Food means, to the birds, the very difference
between life and death. The all important
btu. or British thermal unit of which man
kind prattles, works equally well with the song
birds in the cold, although they know nothing
about it,
What they do know and what they work
upon, is the smell of good food. That odor may
not be very definite to the human nose, but the
birds are able to take 1t In. They have another
way Of knowing something good to eat, and
that is eyesight. A bird can spot food at a tre-
mendous distance. With the buzzard it is said
to be two miles, for an object no larger than a
mouse-and dead mouse, at that.
Our average songbirds cannot see food that
far, nor need they to; they need only to be
able to see seed at a few hundred feet, or
maybe yards; this they do easily and COM
pletely. In the winter, the male sometimes Is
rather churlish with his mate, not wishing her
to eat with him, but when spring time comes
around. he offers her a seed, no doubt much
to his lady's astonishment.
One of the best of the newer bird books has
little new to say of this Bird Male: Bright red,
face black, head crested. bill very large and
red; female: Brownish, with red crest, red
in the wings and tail. Bill as in the male,
prominent because of her brownish face"
What is there new to say about these birds?
Where the newness must come in is in the mind
and heart Of the beholder, each for himself or
herself, finding something out Of the ordinary
In the plain everyday. That this is done con-
stantly Is one reason why so many persons, In
these times of stress. have found some measure
OF peace and eontentment in the simple indoor
outdoor sport Of Watching tho birds.