Evening star., 1949-11-02
This and That
Bv Charles E. TraceweH

Not a sparrow falls. We are told, without
1t being noted.
Perhaps it was that way with red-breasted
nuthatch that fell in Silver Spring, and q
white -throated sparrow that dropped in
Chevy Chase. &c.
Those who saw them and picked them up
were just bird lovers. .....-----.
They sorrowed over such beautiful things
suddenly come to such grief
No mark was found at all on the nuthatch,
beautiful cousin Of the more numerous white
breasted nuthatch.
He who found the white throated sparrow
In Chevy Chase noted q single slight mark
on the top Of the head Of the bird.
Probably, he thought, q grackle with one
peck, had ended the beautiful little creatures 3
life.
There are so many millions Of birds that
most Of them drop unseen.
Some persons have wondered about this,
how seldom even an interested person sees
bird die naturally, or finds body.
Where do they go to die?
What happens to each tiny carcass?
1t may be that the explanation lies there.
Birds, in the main, are very small, and are
easily hidden by q few leaves or grass.
1t has been said that when bird realizes
Its end Is near 1t flies to . stream, and takes
last drink, then falls In to disappear for
ever.
Some one has pictured mankind as q great
group forever crossing . bridge. now one
dropping on now another, but the stream Of
people endlessly crossing. going forward to an
unknown destination.
same bridge, but few pay any attention to
them. Yet they are part of the immortal
caravan. and it is good that now and then
we are reminded Of It,
It Is only In an inert specimen that one
gets to see the real beauty Of the feathers
and colorings Of wildbirds.
Even the best binoculars cannot bring to
the watcher all the color and 1oveliness Of the
real thing.
Even a specimen insa museum Is behind
glass. so that one cannot get close enough to
see it at It's best,
And being stuffed does something to q bird
or animal.
There is taken away the gloss of living,
without which specimen Is just that
specimen.
The bird. even though dead when found,
has not been gone long enough to lose that
patina.
! It still has its coloring, and every feather
its stiffness-for feathers have Stiffness too,
as well as 1exibility.
The oils in the feathers are still there when
such bird is found
kk& 4
Some of these specimens drop from lack Of
food on their migrating journeys.
Occasionally one sees this. One April early.
the 14th. woodthrush new across the street
and dropped dead on neighbor's porch.
It had barely stopped breathing when
picked UP. and almost might have been said
to be vibrant with life.
There are some red-breasted nuthatches
here each winter, but by no means as many
as the white-breasted forms. resident In
Washington and vicinity the year around
The red-breasted form Is smaller than the
other, being but ~ inches long, as compared
with the white breasted nuthatch, which Is
s inches long and broader across the beam.
Often as the white-throated sparrow hies
around the yard an observer will wonder q
little about 1t being called white -throated," !"
since the patch beneath the chin Is not overly
prominent.
When he holds the bird In his hand, how
ever, he sees just the extent Of the patch, and
notes how beautifully 1t blends with the rest
Of the feathers.
Then he marvels anew at the Artist who
drew up the plans. specifications and color
ings Of the animals. the birds. the fishes. and
even the insects.