Evening star., 1949-02-12
This and That
BIZ Charles E. Trdce1DeU
"TAKOMA PARK.

Dear Sir:
sometimes I read where people protest
the actions of some mockingbirds ,,
II would like to tell the other~side of it,
IT find the mocker one Of our best. and
especially this one that comes to my back
porch every morning.
He arrives before real light.
II can hear him make this noise. He
perches in bush and calls for foodgs :
II am sure. If he could talk. he would be
calling, 'Raisins, raisins raisins!
THAT is what he is after.
"He keeps up the calling until appear
with the box in my hand.
Then he stops, and becomes as silent
as anything.
" put out the food. and go inside again.
Then he flies down, sometimes even before
get the door closed.
Some of my friends want to know how
many raisinS he eats.
II tell them four at time. Sometimes
he takes a fifth one.
Then he flies back to his bush. He loves
to perch there, while his food digests.
You can see he is not very greedy. He
will come back, every now and then but on
these trips have never seen him take more
than two at time.
This mocker Is not o bad one. He does
not drive other birds away. except now and
then. and that is something almost all
birds do.
Il have watched the redbirds and always
the male eats first. and when he Is finished,
and only when he is finished, can the
mother bird eat.
Il have read in your column, but never
seen IL, about the father redbird feeding the
mother bird a seed. Is this just the kind
ness of some one specimen. or do they all
do it. and when can look for 1t?
my favorite is the mockingbird. love
to watch him fluff out his feathers in the
cold, until he is almost as round as ball.
will raisins keep him warm enough?
What is his temperature?
Sincerely, A. M"
The catbird, close relative of the mocker,
has temperature of better than 108 de-
grees. so it may be believed that the latter
has about the same.
This means that the creature. even in
SHOW and ice, will always be at that degree,
provided he gets enough food.
Raisns high in sugar, are ideal for this
purpose.
They suit the soft bill of the bird, and
enable him to pack in plenty Of heat units.
II birds receive such foods, and manage to
keep their feathers intact (Which they
usually do) they will thrive on such winter
foods.
Moistened bread doughnuts and raisins
will take any wintering mocker through
the coldest season.
He also manages to find berries OF the
shrubs including pokeberries.
The cardinal, or redbird will eat raisins.
but Is not as fond of them as the soft
billed birds.
The redbirds wants seeds, prefer ably sun
flower seeds.
These are the favorites of all seed-eating
songsters Of this vicinity.
The male cardinal is rather bossy In his
attitude toward his mate. She must take
second place most Of the time, except when
Springtime comes around.
Then, much as among some human
beings, his attitude softens, and he Is first
to do favors for her. He takes a sun
flower seed in his bill, and pokes 1t at his
chosen one.
She, though surprised, manages to take
the seed, being all bird herself, and needing
as much food as she can get.
If this sudden change of action surprises
her, she does not let on. She simply eats.
All male cardinals act this way in the
spring, so it is an action easy to see. 1t Is
not confined just to few altruistic speci-
mems. All of them do 1t. 1t Is just the
nature Of the beast"
Many bird watchers find their pet winter
mockingbird one Of the most rewarding OF
all the birds. They forgive him his dog in
the-manger" attitude and try their best to
keep him in soof health