Evening star., 1947-05-27
This and Tha
BIZ Charles E. Tracewell !

A retired Government official had baby
robin almost drop in his hands the o% day
from the sky.
The young bird fell into bush juA few
feet from where he was standing.
Since there were no trees or bkings
nearby, the bird must have fallen frontsme-
thing carrying it, he figured.
No hawk was in sight, but the scan OF
a jay resounded in the neighborhood.
Could he have been nest robbery
The official had no proof but he spCted
the jay.
Perhaps he was right, maybe he waagong
There are two sides to every be jay
one good and the other bad; humanb,ings
always take Sides" when it comes to thirds
No one is lukewarm, when it comes | ays;
you are either very much for, or vertnuch
against, this triumphant screamer, whoint the
past so years, has become ferquenter hume
yards and garden and bird feeding st$on.
The pay off of this story is that thPfhdal
knew where there was robins nest, ,pout a
block away, so he took the baby robiHhere,
and found that it fitted neatly into tt nest
with three of It's brothers and sistersl
The mother and father robin had bee4ying
around mourning, but when the lost bt was
put back into the nest, they calmed doy and
began feeding the flock as before.
AIly Oilc 1lUSIcStcu LII UIu 4A4C 1lAIlSt psNeCl-
ested in the bluejays. They are so Amerh, so
full of vim and vigor, so beautiful and tri-
umphant in their Joy of living.
From the days when Audubon drew hiblate
showing one of these birds holding a dAping
egg of another species In his claws no fcies
has been so widely attacked.
There have always been defenders, hover
people who used their own eyes and beved
that jays were more sinned against thasin
ming.
1t is true that they will steal youngfom
time to time. and some eggs, but their 1nds
believe that this nefarious work does no2cur
very often-that mostly this is a wonfful
species
This has been the attitude of the colun for
many years, during which time we feel til we
have converted many persons on the subj of
bluejays.
Watch a jay without prejudice, an4you
will find him a fine bird, one Of the most Au
tiful and interesting of all,
The Smithsonian Institution, in a bftin,
just released, points out that within thI hst
few generations the bluejay has changedffm
wild bird to almost tame one.
This boisterous and impudent creaturG C.
cording to DR.. Winsor Marrett Tyler, "ha31en
wise enough to adapt itself to civilization Her
than retreat from man.
At present, DR.. Tyler points out. the blkay
is commonly regarded as tame bird, almtin
the same class with the robin. Until nearahe
end of the last century, however, it was som
seen near human habitation.
Although the bluejay is considered pah-
nent resident over large portions of its brethg
range, there is definite evidence that as a sizes
it is highly migratory, DR.. Tyler sayss It's
migrations, however, are inconspicuous, ansoe
notices only that it becomes more numerouAd
noisy.
The voice of the jay intrigues DR.. Tyler kit
does most listeners.
But comparatively few observers are FAM hr
with the song of the bluejay," he decfs.
When he sings he throws off his boist4ls
demeanor. He retires to,the recesses of bd
or seeks seclusion in thick evergreen treeAd
there, all alone, sings his quiet solo.
''The song is a potpourri of faint Whistles id
various low, sweet notes. some in phrasingfd
pitch suggesting robins song. mockingfd
might be singing sotto voce, but as the song es
on one realizes that most Of the notes Re
clearly In the bluejay's repertoire, but are s.
guished by being jumbled together and delivtd
gently and peacefully"