Evening star., 1948-10-07
This and That
By Charles z. Trace,Deu
"THIRTY-FoURTH PLACE.

Dear Sir: 1A'1oH'
Are there many albinos in the bird worldp
This summer we enjoyed observing q white
robin In our back yard At first we did not
know what 1t was. but soon discovered it had
all the characteristics of robin It was slight
ly larger, its breast was a very pale orange or
pale rust. but it hoped. listened, etc., as the
robin does.
we also noticed the other robins would stare
at 1t but did not get too close Off hand
would say 1t was lonely bird
TO my mind We have the most wonderful
back yard. believe just about every bird in
this vicinity eventually pays us visit Oh, yes.
we have three places for them to feed and suet
tied on many branches of trees. I am almost
late each day to the office-the birds are so
fascinating.
Il enjoy your column so much, thank you for
this daily pleasure Sincerely, B. w."
There are reputedly a dozen albino robins
in and around Washington every year.
Their actions are SO robinlike that no one
Is in doubt as to what they are:
Just plain robins with fancy colorins or
lack thereof
The actions are typical of the Species espe-
clally in worm catching.
Whether they listen or look" seems to be
constant theme for dispute among watchers
1t may be either use Of the eyes, or hearing,
Others will tell you that 1t is really bone
induction; that Is, the bird senses, by tingling
In its cranial bones, the movement of the worm
in the earth.
Then. they assert, the bird naturally enough
uses both eyes and hearing apparatus, just as
any one would, in similar situation.
+
Albino squirrels are sometimes seen
Ihese are forms OF the common gray Squr-
rel, as is that Of mechanism, or blackness
Often, but not always, the albino forms
have pink eyes
The black squirrel is in every respect just
like the grays, except for the colorng, which
most often is on the rusty side just as it is
in many black cats
Even the blackest Of black cats seen in q
good strong light, will be seen to have a touch
OF brown in his coat
There are many sparrows with plenty of
white on them.
These sometimes strike observers as new
| BIRDS at first but a little observation will
show that they are just common sparrows.
There is not enough white on them to
cause others of the group to resent them.
With all-white BIRDS the others mostly tend
to shy away.
Among the squirrels the albino and the
black are both Stunned by others. This tends
to make them antisocial as it were ready
to run at others on sight
The only black squirrel ever to come in our
own yard was left strictly alone by the gray
ones
He stuck around for one day, but was never
seen again. 1t may be presumed that these
forms are essentially migratory coming into
one neighborhood for few days. only to move
on when they find the others hostile to them
1t Is said that the albino penguin is pecked
at and driven out OF the camp, even by its
own mother and father, and that no other
penguins will feed 1t, so that it starves to
death
The normal pattern, in the animal world, is
even more desirable to the tribe than it
| is among human beings, who in recent years
have shown a greater urge toward uniformity
than ever before; it is no wonder, then, that
| animals, without real speech or written
| history, tend to be suspicious of the member
who does not look in all ways exactly like one
else.
One has but to think of the desire all over
| the world for various colored uniforms, of the
consistent dress patterns of teen-agers, and
the typical dress of modern small boys, to
realize that we humans are not so different
| from the penguins, robins and squirrels. after
Ill,