State

January 20, 193*4 THE STATE Page Nineteen NORTH CAROLINA’S MID-WINTER BIRDS - By JOHN MARSHALL PARHAM - ★ DARK clouds were hanging low and the whole face of the earth seemed to be covered with a gray shroud. Riling, stinging cold had shut man inside his shelter. He was warm — contented . Perched high over a barren stretch of frozen ground was a gray Shrike, the outlaw among birds, tentatively watching a busy little Pine Warbler vainly searching for food. Almost quicker than speed itself, the Shrike had swooped U|>on the Warbler and had left it hanging upon an unsympa¬ thetic. thorny bush — a shapeless butch¬ ered thing . . . bleeding . . . dead. Not so far away, a Kingfisher was darting up and down over a stream, not yet frozen in a world that seemed dead or in a state of hibernation. There were sudden raucous cries of the Jay. A eat, now motionless, had been stealthily creeping upon a Caro¬ lina Wren — perhaps a kinder fate than winter's little game. Tt was merely another of Nature's ironical gestures —a Jay protecting a Wren! But such scenes are not unusual among birds in North Carolina, whether it be Winter or Summer. Sixty-one different species of birds re¬ main in the State all winter. This figure docs not include the water fowls that migrate from the North and set¬ tle along the estuaries in Eastern Carolina. Approximately three hun¬ dred and forty have been catalogued in the State during winter and sum¬ mer inclusive. On the coldest Winter day, the While-Throated, the Field, the Eng¬ lish, the Song, and the Fox Sparrows chirp riotously. The purple Finch, arriving in late Fall and migrating in early Spring, the Red-Shouldered and Sparrow Hawks, the Winter Wrens, Woodcocks and Turkey Vultures all reside in North Carolina throughout Winter. Pine Warblers and the Barn and Screech Owls remain in the State throughout the year. Vocal Attributes Tbe natural assumption that birds are silent in winter is a common one. But on the contrary the majority sing all winter long —oven the Crow has his STARLING (Spring and winter plumages) - ★ - love song. The Jay is wildly alive in songs and calls, while most any day. the voices of the Woodpecker and the Titmouse may 1-' heard. North Caro¬ lina's birds, like its human beings, ex¬ perience love, fear, bate and anger. Also like human beings, their long standing feuds are often sus|>ciided temporarily because of suffering im¬ posed by winter and because something akin to intuition tells them that there is power in united effort. Virtuosity among the birds, when highly devel¬ oped, is not alone music, hut also a sound picture of their existence, every chirp, note or cry having some sig¬ nificant message for those who listen. The best singers compose, improvise, transpose, and progress from one key to another in a most skillful manner, usually after they have isolated them¬ selves from other birds. During the mating season, these master musicians will stage song combats to determine which is to take tbe timid female bird ★ ns a mate and the best singer wins. The bird is a temperamental, high- strung, emotional creature whose very existence sometimes scents to depend upon the expression of his emotional life in song. Color Voriefies Practically every color of the rain¬ bow is represen tod in the plumage of North Carolina’s birds. Three beautiful ones of red are the Cardinal, the Tanngcr, and the Robin. The Warbler, rarely seen in the suburbs, proudly boasts of a vividly oranged head, neck and umlcrparts while the Baltimore Oriole conics in, a close sec¬ ond, with trimmings of the same color. The Yellow Warbler and the bril¬ liant Goldfinch each sings its suprem¬ acy as it preens its feathers of a bright yellow. The Humming Bird is almost a grassy green and several of the Warblers are olive. Tbe bluest of blues is that of the Bluebird flitting about in tbe .sunlight. For a great variety of colors, we need only to look at the Mocking Bird, the Indigo Bunt¬ ing, the Orchard Oriole, the Wood Thrush and the Thrasher. Many of those birds arc useful to the farmer and should be protected. Among such birds are: Bluebirds, Robins, Titmice, Wrens. Brown Thrashers, Catbirds, Swallows. House Finch, Baltimore Oriole, Bobolink, Blue Jays, and the Woodpeckers. 1’rotection of birds is :i simple hobby for many. The vast variety of the colors of North Carolina's birds to¬ gether with their repertoires are not unpleasant rewards for those who pro¬ tect those allies of the farmer. Be¬ cause of the climate and geographic location of the State, we are fortunate enough to have more than a third of all the birds known to live in the United States.