Evening star., 1947-02-08
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trace,oeH.
ARLINGTON, Va.

ARLINGTON, Va.
Dear Sir:
To-day T heard a cardinal singing.
'Is he rather early, or do cardinals
sing frequently at this time?
Many thanks for your helpful col
umn, which I have enjoyed for many
years. Sincerely, E. E. d.
Cardinals and other species tentatively
test their singing powers on any fairly
warm day in winter.
And when a few really warm days
come, such as we enjoyed recently, the
birds are tempted to try their syrinx,
or throat muscles.
Birds are divided into groups by
scientists according to the structure and
number of these muscles.
Singing birds, or songbirds, have at
least four muscles.
Classified as songbirds are hundreds
of species, out of the total of approx
mately 1,400 in America, including such
diverse creatures as the wood thrushes
and mockers-and the starlings and
crowsl
If you speak of the crow as song
bird, most people are inclined to find the
idea humorous.
That is because they have not thought
of the crows notes as musical.
The fact is, however, that this bird
has vocal chords approximating those
of any thrush.
If he does not use them as well, from
musical earpoint, it is simply because
he does not choose to do so.
Or, more exactly. somewhere in crow
history there was failure to make the
most of what they had, from vocal
standpoint, and so today all crows say
is "caw, cav, cav" whereas they have
the power to put on veritable concert,
actually.
Parts of real spring songs will be
heard from now on from all Of the song
birds inhabiting this region.
Those interested in these primary
creatures, so closely allied to music, one
of the oldest arts, and aeronautics, one
of the newest Of sciences, will do well
to listen closely from now on.
The birds will be singing, not whole
songs, perhaps, but phases, and single
or double notes, and it is interesting
to catch them at it the moment they
start.
This sport may be carried on at any
time, and almost anywhere, even in the
downtown; starlings are among the
finest of spring whistlers, and the COM
mon sparrows put extra notes into their
chirps
Already we have seen female English
sparrow carrying lengths of twine, and
before long there will be some real nests
on the horizon.
Common Sparrows start nesting in
February
House wrens come back very early in
March, along with the bluebirds.
It won't be until April %, that the
best singer Of them all, the wood thrush,
will show up, followed by the catbirds
| and the mockingbirds, at least those
| members of the latter clan which went
| South last fall.
The white -throated sparrow already
| has started to sing.
Training the ear to catch the bird
songs is easy, II you don't make job
l--of It; that is, try simply to listen, rather
| than think Most people today do too
| much thinking! They insist on saying
| that they do not understand" SYM
| phony music, for instance, when all one
| has to do with symphony or any other
| sort of music is to listen. Music Is
| one great release from thinking. Even
an idiot can listen!
The birds do not think at all about
| their singing, but they make some of
the most beautiful music we viii ever
hear. It is lovely because it is appro-
pirate, spontaneous and natural. Maybe
there Is tip there for human musicians.