Evening star., 1949-10-18
This and That
By Charles E. TraceweH
"BETHESDA NEd

Dear Sir:
Anything can happen on a bird hike.
ANY layman may and often does con-
tribute to scientific ornithology.
"On September Is, when tramping
through an open field in Bethesda all aglow
with golden rod and Joe Pye weed, no.
ticed birds nest, made mainly of grasses
and situated In low fork of locust about
three feet from the ground.
Naturally expected it to be abandoned,
but to my delight and surprise, there were
three young in it.
Their stump bills and characteristic black
wings suggested goldfinches to me, and then,
after few minutes waiting, the mother
appeared, her drab olive green plumage made
this almost certainty.
"A telephone call to the Smithsonian In
stitution revealed that this must have been
a goldfnch nest, for only the English spar
row, the mourning dove and some species Of
owls have young or eggs in this vicinity at
this time Of year.
'The goldfnch pair should not have any
trouble to feed their young, for seeds OF
thistles and ragweed, on which have often
seen goldf1nches here, are plentiful right
now.
incidentally, this region is excellent for
bird observation. So far have seen about
IS species here. Some Of the more unusual
are the killdeer, Eastern kingbird and the
towhee.
Unfortunately, this particular region is
being built up very fast, and am afraid
that many birds will disappear
Sincerely yours, T. w. Z. 81
It is pretty late for bird babies, but they
grow amazingly fast, and are by nature
equipped to take over the duties Of life after
brief education by their parents.
Often squirrels are born as late, and these
are well furred and muscular and brimful Of
life by the time the real cold weather sets In.
The goldfinch, or wild canary, as it Is
sometimes called, is one Of our most interest,"
ing birds.
great many watchers see it without rec
ognizing it. They are forever wanting to
know what it is. and often are disappointed
when they find out. They should not be-,
for this is very fine species.
The goldflnch Is inches long, with q
varying plumage in different seasons. That
is where the difficulty in recognition
comes in.
The male in summer has lemon-yellow
body and wings and tail black.
In winter. the male has the upper parts
olive-brown, the underparts gray-white, and
the wings and tail blackish. (This is also
the dress Of the females at all seasons)
In other words, the male In winter is SINH
lar to the female, but with wings and tail
deeper black, with white markings more
conspicuous.
The young are like the winter adults ex-
cept that they are browner, and all other
markings suffused with pale cinnamon
color.
So you see this is a bird that may fool
you!
The goldhnch is true nature lover, him
self.
That is, when other birds are nesting, he
is greeting the springtime with song and
frolic.
He hops around, sings, flies, apparently
without thought of the stern duties Of life,
It seems the goldflnch needs the nesting
examples Of other birds to put him in mind! !!
Then he settles down, nests and brings
forth his young just as other birds do, but
he is always little late about it.
Most goldfinch nests are placed no lower
than feet from the ground, sometimes as
high as 80 feet.
Their entire nesting takes place from the
last week in June through the second in
September; eggs number from three to six,
with five or six common; eggs are pale-blue
white, unmarked.
Altogether, this is one of our best birds.
Sometimes it is seen hanging upside down
on bending weed, eating seeds as II they
were the most delightful food in the world,
as they are. indeed. to seed-eating bird.