Evening star., 1948-06-19
This and That
BY Charles =. TrdceweH ~ ''%
. "LANDOVER HILLS, MI

, "LANDOVER HILLS MD.
Dear Sir:
After reading your column commenting on
birds short memories and inability to hold .
grudge we are at loss to explain the behavior
Of bird we have been watching for the past
two weeks
This bird is about the size Of robin, dark
gray, with lighter gray breast, and with good
deal of white showing in the tail when 1t is IN
flight
every day, beginning about noon, it has been
tormenting neighbors cat; 1t swoops down
on the cat sometimes touching him with Its
bill and squawking continuously. At other
times 1t lands only foot or two behind him,
screaming all the while and leaving only when
the cat makes q move. 1t keeps this up for
hours, scarcely taking time out to eat.
"At first we thought destruction OF the birds
mate or young by the cat had incurred this
method of revenge. In fact, If the cat could
talk we wouldn't have been surprised to see
him 60 to the police, driven to confession by
this odd means Of torture. However, If birds
DO not hold grudges, we would like to know
your opinion of this behavior.
Yours truly, H. g."
The mockingbird is not holding grudge-he
Is protecting his nest.
This makes him real mutt from the stand
point OF the cat.
If q mocker happens to take a dislike to a
human being, it posters him in just the same
way.
At nesting time this bird is fend, and a
few specimens carry over the trait to winter
These are the birds that act in a "dog-in-
manager" fashion at bird feeding stations
They will not eat themselves, and will not
permit other speices to get in.
Sometimes they poster whole neighborhood
Of birds in this way.
A mocker on the defense puts up . grating
noise that is continuous, and at times gets on
the nerves of even the most ardent bird
admirer.
The bird sweeps down, mostly pecking a
small animal on the back then lifts easily
and repeats the performance.
When it is directed against a cat that has
no spleen at all against the bird land never
would attack its nest), the poor animal does not
know what to make of the performance.
We knew of one man, no bird fan who
was much outraged at the behavior OF one
mockngbrd nesting in his yard.
This bird took after him the moment he
showed his face It few directly at his head,
in such a direct attack that the householder
felt called upon each time to wave his arm
violently.
The nuisance finally got SO bad that he car
ried a broom or rake every time he left the
house for the garage.
Blue jays also make this defense Of their
nest, but not in such continuous performance.
The jay actually will peck . human head
something the mocker makes out he will do
but seldom does.
Jays are ardent parents, defending their
young and feeding them wherever they 60
The mocker family is more sedate. Once
the young are out of the nest. they take their
places easily with the oldsters and attract little
attention.
The jay, being bright and noisy makes a
beautiful picture in attack on an animal
One of our finest bird memories is of jay
after old Quincy, the yellow cat
The bird chased the cat up tree, and then
proceeded to bomb-dive him repeatedly.
The contrast of the beautiful yellow color
with the blue of the bird made picture seldom
seen.
1t is a fact. of course, that blue and yellow
flowers together make one of the best vase
combinations.
It is an odd thing, but birds dislike yellow
cats more than those Of any other color.
Can this be because yellow or tawny is the
traditional jungle cat color?
Certainly birds can be said to carry such
images down through the centuries. Nothing
short In the ancestral memory.