Evening star., 1949-01-22
This and That
Bu Charles E. TrdceueH

Two birds coming into feeding stations
these days are the purple finch and the fox
sparrow.
It is true that few remained all winter.
but now more and more are appearing, on
their early way back North. Welcome beau
ties they are in the cold
That streak of rose, rather than purple
that is the finch.
And the big sparrow-like fellow, industriously
digging through the leaves like some old hen
That is the fox sparrow, popularly called
foxie.
A dozen or so purple fnches in feeding box
makes sight never to be forgotten.
So does just onel
The descriptive Of purple goes back long
way, clear to the palmy days OF Rome
Poets were accustomed then to speak of
the purple fushes of dawn on the cheeks of
beautiful Aurora
Purple, in Roman terms, meant rosy.
**
Hence today We speak of the purple finch
because the word is contained in the scientific
name, when actually we mean, rather, the
rosy or even fiery inch.
Some one said the bird resembled a creature
dipped in pokeberry juice
Perhaps that describes it best
1t is large, vigorous with an impetuOus look.
Yes, birds as we'll as people, have looks" all
their own.
There is the sweet look of the mother SPAR
row, the dashing look of the blue jay, the
buccaneer look of the male cardinal.
There is the naughty look of the sparrow
hawk, the bumbling look of the baby starting,
and the kind look of the wood thrush.
We must see these things, too, when we look
at birds, as we'll as the coloration or other
salient characteristics.
Window watcher who looks at a fox sparrow
will miss much If he fails to see the way it
digs in the leaves.
This is its most characteristic action It
scratches for all it is worth, making the leaves
fly. 1t loves flower borders where dead leaves
were piled
Foxie is looking for insect forms which, but
for him, will develop into nuisances to harm
and ruin plants.
When the watcher thinks that the beautiful
bird not only is a thing of beauty but also a
good insect killer he may congratulate him.
self land will if he is sensble) on having such
movement going ON there.
Then, if he has humor we'll as intelligence
and most people do, else the world would be
far worse than it is-he will realize there is
something really funny about the way this
little one in the leaves bobs himself backward
and forward.
1t is one of those almost automatic actions
that becomes more ridiculous the longer one
watches it.
Foxie finch as he is sometimes called, builds
his nest on the ground.
Few of us around here will see the nest, be-
cause that is reserved for Novia Scotia and
other sections up there.
This is a sparrow to make any one fall in
love with the sparrow tribes.
His tawny coloring sets him apart.
We see him here migrant, although 1t
must be kept in mind that a few select this
vicinity as their farther South"
Fnches constitute the largest family of birds
There are about 1900 species the world over
with 200 in the United States. They are
singing birds in best sense. That is why 1t Is
mildly silly to hear some one speak Of the
harsh chirp" Of the common sparrow. He,
too, is a finch, although some folks suspect
he is weaver bird, really.
Finches are seed eaters, but they also eat
insects. Their usefulness to man is unques-
toned. The birds of this group are classed
popularly, as buntings, grosbeaks, sparrows
and finches. Sparrow means "hutterer," bunt-
ing means plump"