Evening star., 1948-06-30
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trdce1DeH

SECOND STREET NE.
Dear Sir:
"one week in spring flock of cedar wax
wings visited Capitol Park where they remained
for about a week
They thoroughly cleaned from some large
Sophora trees last years unsightly seed pods
and even cleared from the ground and walks
the seeds that fell.
Among these birds were q few that re-
manned quietly in the trees and did not move
around much, apparently guardians Of the
flock.
They had red spots on the wings BY far
the larger number were trit1e smaller and
these all had white or pale yellow spots on the
wings where the red wax should be-
TT seems unlikely that these were all fe-
males or that they should be young birds so
early in the year.
male, and does she have the red wing spots?
1 would like to know at what age do these
birds acquire the red wax
about the first of May dozens OF small
thrushlike birds arrived in Capitol Park.
Scattered among the flock were few ia
miliar wood thrushes.
The smaller birds moved on in 4 day or
two, but the thruShes remained.
The smaller birds had bright brown backs
like the wood thrushes, and spotted breasts,
but the breast spots were smaller and less pro-
nounced than those of the wood thrush.
They moved over the ground with q de-
cided hop, not at all as the wood thrush moves
From this incomplete description, can you
recognize this thrush?
Sincerely yours E. A. S."
The waxwings were in imperfect plumage.
This, of course, is similar to the perfect
plumage, but without the waxlike appendages
to secondaries, with yellow band across tip Of
tail narrower and paler yellow.
An authority states that some Of the birds
lack the red tips and have other variations
from the normal coloration.
He quotes the famous DR.. Ridgway as say
ing: L am at a loss for a satisfactory name
for this plumage, or an explanation of its true
meaning.
1T is obviously quite independent of sex
and that 1t has nothing to do with the age of
the specimen, or at least is not evidence of i'm
mature age. Is almost equally certain
The oven bird is a walker and so does not
get over the ground In any way resembling
that of q wood thrush.
But our correspondents other bird might
have been willow thrush, or veery; or perhaps
a gray-checked thrush or an e-backed
thrush.
None OF these Is as common here as the
familiar wood thrush, which has been adopted
as the "ofhcial" bird of the District Of Co
lumbia.
There is, after all, no better bird.
II friend Of birds had to pick just one.
wouldn't it be the wood thrush?
It would with us, and no doubt with million
more, though there undoubtedly would be
thousands Of persons holding out for the red
bird. the mocker, the catbird, and so on.
It is much to the credit of each one that it
Is perfect, in its own fashion
What better bird, in way of speaking, than
the blue jay?
The little song sparrow is fine, and, by rela-
tionship, the common English sparrow, and
even the wise old starting will have its ad-
mrers
But the wood thrush, after all, is perfection
itself
He is calm, sedate beautiful wise, clean,
healthy. sane.
What more could one ask for. in world
where at times one may be forgiven for think
irg that no living thing 10 any q these.