Evening star., 1948-04-10
This and That
By Charles Z. Trdce,DeH.
"BETHESDA M,


BETHESDA, Md.
Dear Sir:
Which do you think is the happiest bird?
Sincerely, G. M. L.
What question:
How can any human being understand bird
happiness?
It is easy, of course, to look at bird from
human standpoint, and decide sthen (also
from the human viewpoint whether 1t is
happy or not
But one must doubt this to be fair way Of
approaching the question.
"one must be turtle and think turtle" En-
erson declared, ito understand turtle"
It must be the same with birds. Just how
they react, and what thought processes they
have, If any, in regard to every problem
These mean one thing to the bird, probably
an entirely different thing to the human OBJ
server.
*++# =
We can only say that certain birds seem to
be happy.
This comes about because the natural life
Of every living creature has in it aspects of
happiness, as viewed by thinking human beings
How the natural creatures feel is different
matter, but it is possible to believe that, with
out words, they feel much as we do, since we
belong to the animal kingdom, too.
Certainly in springtime, all birds appear to
be happy.
Their mating is not fraught with the agony
that sometimes appears in the mammals.
The process Of building the nest. laying the
eggs and incubating them. with subsequent
work to feed the hungry mouths, and the ele-
mentary training of the young: These factors
would seem to the human watcher to be rea-
sonably happy at all stages.
In the natural life Of the birds, flying Is the
sport or occupation that the birds love the
most one may feel sure of that.
To take the air, to be complete master of
1t, to be able to fly and bank, zoom up and
fold the wings in descent, to glide
These are so natural to birds and instructive
that they must take on the unconscious quality
of breathing.
Now, a human can call himself happy in
breathing only If he takes conscious stock of
the process, and realizes that his breathing ap-
paratus is in good trim. and that the afr II
fresh, etc.
The birds have no consciousness, as we think
of it, but that does not mean that they do not
get happiness Of q sort In following their natu-
raj bent.
This is the supreme happiness Of being nor
NAL
OF all the birds, the bluejay win strike some
observers as being the happiest. in q very real
sense
Others might select the chickadee, sometimes
called the cheerful chickadee"
The little song sparrow is happy bird, II
any one ever saw one.
But the old jay. with his loud cry, and his
way Of swooping in and out, and his very real
sense Of hunor. seems to get what human OBJ
server would call happiness out Of every bit
Of his life
He Is replete with factual sense, something q
bird needs, too.
He has been known to play Jokes, or what
seem to be jokes, on his fellows.
He often hides food In crevices OF bark, and
no doubt enjoys the process of wondering which
smaller bird will hnd 1t. This. we believe, Is
not too much to credit to Americas jay.
The happiest bird. then, we believe to be the
bluejay.
Only once have We seen one disappointed
with life as he hnds 1t, and that was the old
fellow who new back to the big locust tree and
looked for the limb on which he had raised his
family last year.
1t was not there. It had been sawed Oh after
summer storm. and We swear that old jay
looked sad, as he perched on the trunk, look
ing for the missing branch.