Evening star., 1948-02-05
This and That
By Charles E. TraceWeH ~ eaa.
CAPE MAY POINT, N. J.

Dear Sir:
How would you like to wake up tomorrow
morning and know that when you looked out
of your dining room window at your bird feed
ing station you would see about SO cowbirds
sitting like so spooks on the tree nearby, watt,
ing to eat every crumb put out for our nice
bird friends?
I'VE have been feeding the birds all winter
and have had lots of myrtle warbers, titmice,
two pairs of cardinals and many interesting.
sparrows come every day.
Suddenly the sky was black with gangsters
and they have been with US ever since.
"1t is pathetic to see the fox SparroWS dance
jig. in the snow and as soon as he has dug
a hole to see a coWbird sneak up and eat the
grain unearthed
"It is disheartening to know that each Of
these horrid birds will kick some pretty bird
out of its nest next spring.
"They look like immoral creatures too, and
we have decided not to pay up any more, for
the other birds haven't chance when they
are around.
I'VE did have bluebirds up until week ago.
Where do they go, wonder?
Sincerely, c. M H"
Since this correspondent asks the question,
how we would like to look out the window and
see so cowbirds, we will answer it frankly:
We would love it!
lnere are lew DlTQS INTEREST us more
than these Immoral birNs, as she rather
unfairly calls them.
Birds know nothing of morals.
All they know, in the cold, is desire for
something to eat, and it is scarcely fair to slur
the poor cowbirds for being hungry.
They are just as hungry as titmice, cardinals
and others we may prefer.
We long ago (still being personaD got over
the desire to have just our chosen birds at our
feeding stations.
Once We got over that natural desire, bird
watching became a much more exciting and
interesting sport.
Now we take them as they come, and see
once and for all that no one has any right to
pick and choose, in nature, except in way of
speaking; actually, nature is large, 1t includes
multitudes, as Walt Whitman told us; nature
sends them, and we, as watchers, must make
the best of them all.
That way, we get something besides sport.
We get lessons in what have been called,
rather heavily, the eternal verities.
The cowbird, actually. is very pretty bird.
: If it were not for his-or, her-one bad
habit of laying an egg in another birds nest,
she would be picturesque.
The male cowbrd, of course, is the pretty
one, glistening greenish- black body with
brown head and neck. (He is our only black
bird with a brown head)
The female, the real villain of the piece is
blownish-gr so little resembling the male
that often she is overlooked.
If food habits of these birds were alone to
be considered, they would be classed as benefl-
cial, but experts hold that the lives of two to
five other birds is the price of each cowbird.
This is, indeed, rather heavy price to pay. and
it must give one pause, when enthusiastic
about these parasites.
We would suggest to our correspondent, If
she does not want the cowbirds around to
make q practice of discouraging their pres
ence. Every time they appear, she might
venture into the yard with shooing motions.
This will, of course, frighten all the songsters
away, but in most cases the smaller and more
desirable ones will come back first. A little
persistence in this probably will cause the
cowbirds to remain away, after several days
of trying it.
Heavy SHOWS to the North caused the cow
birds to gather in flocks to protect themselves
what one bird sees in the food line offering
possibilities to the others These are intelligent
birds despite their parasitism they actually
are beautiful, if one can let go the idea of the
odd habit of the female in putting her eggs in
other birds nests. Let them eat little, and
then shoe them on. Who knows the way the
world Is going now, that our own turn to be
! hungry may not come too soon?