Evening star., 1948-07-08
This and That
BIZ Charles Z. Tr1celDeH

~ Catbirds rained down from the lilacs for the
raisins in the grass.
They dropped down one after the other,
soft gray with black topnots, friendly, odd
birds of our summer time.
We will have to look a long way to hnd
better They are complete, true, beautiful,
clean, interesting; they come back every spring
to the same place, and are singers with
difference.
That comical cat call they give is not their
singing in the least. AS singers, they rival
the mocking bird but not every one knows it.
Those out of the lilacs came down with ap-
parent indifference to two cats about Is feet
away.
The cats need explanation, else the catbirds
seem rather silly. The cats were Leggy big
tiger and Penny, old lady.
Leggy's speciality is squirrels He pays little
attention to birds.
Penny despises birds, regarding them as ex-
cessively vulgar.
We have told how catbird flew right into
her face and she looked only shocked.
Leggy would not let a bird off so easily, but
if they keep better than 10 feet away they
run little danger
This is something cat haters ought to get IN
mind, just out of fairness to themselves. Not
all cats are alike, any more than all humans
are alike. Some men shoot animals on sight,
others have never shot one in their lives. 1t
is somewhat the same with cats. There are
bird killers and nonbird killers. And when we
consider that they cannot read, really cannot
think at least in our sense, we may understand
how different the small killers are, in view OF
what the more ruthless of animals do in kill
irg on sight.
It will not do to lump all living creatures off
into single standard pattern of activity The
futility Of this is easily seen In man. 1t may
be understood about cats. Certainly the cat
birds know the difference. They would not
keep in the grass after raisins If some other
cats were around.
Those named, however, strike them land
with rare common sense) as exceptional.
Winding their own business, the catolrds
seem to feel that the cats will mind theirs. In
| Leegv,s case his business seems to be mice, at
the moment These lurk in the ivy along the
driveway.
He waits for a rustic.
Penny is not waiting for prey-all she wants
is for those pesky catbirds to go away!
The birds stick to their raisins, while above
in the lilacs the babies wait.
Surely in all bird land there are no better
behaved children.
Starting young, as one might expect, squawk
and scream.
Robin babies cheep, cheep, cheep.
Even the little thrushes demand food at al.
hours, as do the young sparrows, and the small
wrens
The catbird babies are silent, or almost so,
waiting patiently for what will happen. What
will happen. of course is that big ra,sln
will be popped right into wide open bill
Catbrds are among the very friendliest birds
we have. They often wait until one is within
| 3 or feet before flying up.
Their habit Of coming back to the same yard
each year is we'll known.
| This may be ascertained by the fact that
| they 20 to the familiar old spot to look for
raisinS.
Catbirds are called snakebirds in some sec
| tons over in Virginia, for instance. This, Of
course. comes from vivid imagination playing
with that odd sound they make. "Sna-a-a-a- l.
| ke" the bird seemed to say to some Virginian
of long ago.
SLATE colored mockingbird" is another destg-
nation. "@Black-capped thrush" is another.
| Both names reflect the essential vocal abil-
| tiles of the subject Let no one be fooled.
| This is one of the best singers OF them all.
| The bird L. second only to the mockingbird,
| and there are some listeners who swear that it
should be placed drst.