Evening star., 1948-04-20
This and That
BIZ Charles E. TraceWeH

Thirteen an linlucky number? r.
Not II q brown thrasher and beautiful
oriole show up in your yard on April Is, As
they did in ours.
Two better birds it would be hard to ind.
The thrasher was eating bread on the drive
way, and the oriole was perched high in .
locust tree.
The best thing one can say for locusts is
that they support birds
Trees are the real homes OF songsters, not
the nests, as popularity supposed.
A nest Is the cradle, a tree is the home.
Unless, of course, one decides to call the
air. itself, the home OF the birds, as 1T properly
Is
Mockingbird, catbird and brown thrasher
belong to bird group called mimic thrushes,
though none Of them is thrush.
They get the group name because they are
fine singers.
Scientifically, the Knockers are closer to the
thrushes than to the wrens.
The catbird and brown thrasher resemble
neither group.
The thrasher often is called the "big thrush"
but only the first part Of this term is true.
He Is large, about II inches long
The name comes from his manner Of thrash
ing his tail around.
The song OF the bird is closer to that of the
catbird than the mocker, but clearer and
without any Of the harsh notes.
No doubt many suburban dwellers cry, "Oh
listen to the mockingbird!" when what they
hear is the brown thrasher.
The bird eats both insects and fruit and is
to be regarded as wholly beneficial.
In the old days he kept mostly to secluded
areas such as swamps and groves, but today
along with the brown thrush he has become
a suburban bird.
He is a nice bird to have around. Starlings
sometimes make life miserable for him, at
lIx, bo ie - hrll
his own.
The nest is large, fiat, made of leaves, roots
feathers and some hair, If available.
The eggs number from three to five, pale
green, speckled with brown.
THE song of this thrasher is one of the most
musical and delightful OF American bird utter
ances," wrote an expert.
There are other thrashers notably one
called sennett's, but the brown thrasher is the
only one we have around here.
He is enough.
The bird lover could ask for no better
creature, nice to have in the trees, friendly,
beautiful to watch.
+ \
The oriole is much smaller, not more than
inches long, but he makes up for it by a
gorgeous combination Of black and orange,
famous the world around
The female is not so colorful. being plain,
olive, with bit Of dull orange. but she more
cleverest of all nest builders.
That hanging nest she constructs is an en-
gineering feat, really, with its swinging char
acter, its long pieces of cord used to tie the
whole to the limb.
It is said that the lady oriole somehow man.
ages to understand all the stresses and strains
the nest viii undergo, as 1t swings from the
end Of q long branch hanging over the garden.
Unlike some BIRDS notably swallows which
build according to ancestral ways. and use
materials now out Of date-at least for them
the lady oriole today dispenses with long
grasses and utilizes cord, twine and the like,
whenever she can find it.
This is perhaps the only instance in which
long cords should be placed out for the birds,
since robins and other twine using birds are
likely to hang themselves with them
Ordinarily, only short lengths, not more than
four inches long of wool and string should be
put out for the birds.
The mother oriole wants them longer, and
usually manages to find them, somewhere
She Is q craftsman. The male bird is the
singer. the beauty Of the family. His whistle
Is famous throughout the land Together
they make . wonderful team.