Evening star., 1947-11-27
This and That
By Charles Z. TrncetDeH
ARMY AND NAVY CLUB.

SA1t001 AINO NAV SiO0s
Dear Sir:
"At your convenience, would you be good
enough to answer in your eyer-fascinatins
column these two questions?
Il. How do birds survive such drenching
transforms and cloudbursts as we had several
OF this summer? Do some of them perish
in consequence?
80. Do starlings migrate to the Southland,
and II so, at what season?
Sincerely yours, E. Mack"
The question Of the survival of birds in q
heavy rainstorm is an interesting one.
It is q matter of feathers and common
sense
The bird feather is a unique construction.
Light as q feather Is q phrase known
around the world, but strong as . feather
would be as truthful.
As water-resistant rs q feather-that, too,
tells great deal.
The overlapping quality of the birds feathers,
combined with their oiled surfaces, provide
him with natures original roof.
He carries, in other words, his own roof with
him wherever he goes.
A modification of this is seen in the tortoise
shell. The latter looks a great deal more
solid, but offers no more real protection in \
rain.
The birds feathers will resist all but the
drenching Of veritable cloudburst of bibli-
cal proportions.
There is no ordinary, or greater than aver
age, rain that can dent them, or cause the
bird to suffer.
We must also take into consideration that
songbirds are protected also by a quirk of
nature. This is, in brief, a closing of the wind
pipe, as 1t were, which prevents water from
getting in and literally drowning the creature.
The same provision saves baby bird from
too much food. When it gets enough, it is
practically impossible to force any more down.
Many persons who have rescued young birds
know how this Is.
Then, too, birds have = great deal of COM
Literally, they know when to come in out Of
the rain, as the old saying has it.
They usually seek shelter under leaves and
while such shelter may not seem very great,
from the human standpoint, from that OF the
bird 1t is sufficient.
The very. fact that birds, on boughs and
branches, dip and sway with the wind and
rain also serves to protect them from too much
stress and strain. They give little, do not
offer resistance in too stubborn a fashion.
Humans call this compromise.
All this is why one seldom sees an adult bird
dead from rainstorm. Baby birds, however,
are great sufferers, especially If the uownpour
happens 70 catch them with the parents off the
nest. Many die, not only from drowning, but
also from shock and exposure, since their feath-
ering is not yet complete, and they tnnocentiy
hold their bills aloft for food.
Starlings have built up wholly new migra-
ticn routes In the New World.
This is regarded by ornithologists as feat
which shows their intelligence.
They migrate to Canada and the far West
In spring, and return to their "fartheSt South"
Washington, D. c., and vicinity-in the fall
Wise old birds. they have found the ledges OF
public buildings, well heated, very much to
their liking.
Not all of them migrate, however.
Some Of them like it so well here that they
stay with us the year around.
Their large speckled babies are seen In every
local yard where feeding is carried on.
We were interested recently in hearing re-
ports from other places where large aluminium
owls" with ruby eyes have been tried to scare
on the starlings.
As one who adnnires these birds might expect
they are much too intelligent to be frightened.
The reports stated that some were even roost-
ing on the fake oWlsl