Medford mail tribune., January 11, 1957, Image 20

EIGHT MEDFORD (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE
Friday.' January II. 1957
Is That So?
In naming our animals, curi
ous inconsistencies occur, espe
cially among birds:
' Our Muscovy duck did not or
iginate in Russia as the name
might seem to imply it is a na
tivt of tropical America. Domes
ticated and raised for its meat,
the Muscovy is often seen in
tropical countries where it can
stand the heat better than other
Iflill
.J
tu-sy
tamed ducks. This duck hisses
like a goose and when in flight
resembles a goose because of its
large size.
If the difference of quail, par
tridge and bobwhite has upset
you, don't let it bother you any
more. In the northeastern U.S.,
the bobwhite is often called a
"quail" while In the south hunt
ers refer to them as "partridges."
Of course you've heard many
people exclaim about the beauty
of a peacock's tail. 'Tain't so.
The tail feathers are blackish
and hidden by the "train."
Actually, the peacock's daz
' illng fan of Iridescent golden
and green feathers adorned with
elaborate "eye spots" of blue are
not his true tail feathers at all.
The "fan" grows out well above
the tail.
And used for courtship? Not
always. This vain bird will often
go through his elaborate per
formance for admiring humans
just as willingly as for his mod
estly colored dame. Inasmuch as
the folklore of many lands has
allusions to the peacock, quite
likely the bird was domesticated
centuries ago.
The "native pheasant" more
properly should be called the
ruffled grouse. It la famous of
oourse for Its habit of selecting
log in the woods, come spring,
and strutting along it with tail
widely spread and the black ruff
on his neck fully expanded, and
from time to time "drumming."
Big Argument
Tor a long time there was a
big argument about this drum
ming: one group of woodsmen
and hunters maintained the
grouse produced this sound by
beating on the log with its rap
idly-moving wings; another
maintained, equally vehemently,
that the grouse beat its side. The
argument has finally been set
tled by a slow-motion camera
and both were wrong! The wings
" are whirred so rapidly through
the air itself, without touching
log or body, that the feathers
set up the drumming sound.
Most people consider gulls
and terns seacoast birds, and In
fact, the gull is frequently and
Incorrectly called a sea gull. Far
from it: terns stray far from sea-
coasts in fact, the family in
cludes the world's champion
long-distance migrator; and two
gulls have been honored by a
monument for valuable service
offered a city which is 600
miles inland!
Now It is true that these birds
often frequent the seashore, ex.
cept for one gull which feeds
chiefly on insects which It catch
es In flight or on the ground.
This is the Franklin gull one
of those which was honored by
Salt Lake City.
The statue is a tall marble
shaft topped by a ball on which
two gulls have just landed. Its
purpose? To express the thanks
of a grateful city. About a hun
dred years ago a plague of crick
ets threatened to destroy the
priceless crops of the pioneer
Mormans who had recently ar
rived in the West. The menaced
crops were saved by flocks of
Franklin and California gulls
which wiped out the pestiferous
insects by what must have
seemed like a miracle.
Prairie Pigeon
Another name for the Frank
lin gull, which is the only north
ern species to migrate into the
southern hemisphere, is "prairie
pigeon" also a misnomer.
For that matter, what's the
difference between "doves" and
"pigeons"? None, really. The
former name, however, is used
more often for the smaller, gen
tler members of the pigeon fam
ily. (The family includes two
species, sad to say, which man
exterminated: the passenger pi
geon of North America and the
Dodo of Mauritius in the Indian
ocean, about 500 miles east of
Madagascar.) Both doves and pi
geons belong to the order Co
lumbiformes. For good measure, a trio of
others: our so-called robin red
breast is not a robin but a
PICTURE TUBES
REJUVENATED
It vour picture tub dull and waakP
Most picture tubes ean b restored
to original brightness at only a
fraction of tho cost of replacement.
For further information CALL
Electronic Service
ly IUGENI BURNS
fUnaar-Naruralist
thrush; the housesparrow or En
glish sparrow is a weaverbird:
and that resplendent creature,
the bird of paradise, is nothing
more than a lowly crow.
(Copyright, 19S6, by
Eugene Burns)
(Released by McClur News
paper Syndicate)
Free: By special arrangement
with the editors of the Encyclo
pedia Americana, my panel of
judges will award each week to
the reader who sends me the
best true-life nature adventure,
the best nature observation, or
the -best question on nature and
wildlife, a complete 30-volume
set of this world-famous refer
ence work In a handsome Seal
craft binding. Each week new
submissions will be considered.
Sorry, I simply can't answer
your many friendly letters.
Please address your letter to: Is
That So' co Medford Mail Trib
une, Box 875, Sausalito, Calif.
Hungarians Threaten
Mass Evacuations
Vienna (U.R) Thousands of
Hungarian workers are threaten
ing to flee to the West in pro
test against the return of Com
munist dictatorship, according to
reports reaching Vienna.
Reports from Hungary said
workers at factories in scattered
regions of the country staged
protest marches and demonstra
tions in open defiance of mar
tial law.
The new blue-coated police
force of Premier Janos Kadar
turned out in force on several
occasions but there were no re
ports of violence. ,
Workers carried placards
bearing such slogans as: "We
will flee to he West" and "Mass
dismissals must end," the reports
said.
Use Tribune Want Ads
. J. "ll. M ).. ui ijiin ;niiMptii iiiji iii.i iiiiii ii i. i iwu .. in u ijnii ,p
FREED FROM HER WATERY PRISON The Norwegian
tanker Eli Knudsen, which had been stranded in the Suez
Canal since the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt, sails out
of Port Said harbor into the Mediterranean. She was the
first of 13 marooned vessels to reach the sea.
Sale of Robinson's
Art Collection Near
New York U.R) Sale of ac
for Edward G. Robinson's famed
art collection for an estimated
S3. 25 million was reported im
minent today by art world
sources. I
The prospective buyer, who I
was not identified, was under-!
stood to have outbid a dealer j
who had offered $3 million for !
the collection, regarded as one !
of tne finest in this country.
Moncton, New Brunswick
(U.R) A U. S. Air Force plane
crashed near Andover, N.B., today.
Corvallis U.PJ Al Lindow,
Portland, has been elected presi
dent of the Oregon Dairymen's
Association.
BROOKS ELECTRIC
AND PLUMBING
Evening Phone 2-8587 as Shown
in present phone directory is
incorrect
PLEASE CALL 2-5209
' Evenings 2-28SS
Need A Loan?
0 For Medical Expenses?
To Help Meet A Crisis?
LET US HELP YOU!
Loans To S1.500
SALARY AUTO
FURNITURE
Crater Finance
CORPORATION
135 Pine Street Phone N 0-4-1 273
CENTRAL POINT, OREGON ,
Frank Wilkinson, Mgr. No Parking Problems
TO BUY OR SELL - USE TRIBUNE CLASSIFIES ADS
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f
It's powered by Chevy's famous six
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Only franckised Chevrolet dealer
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Ninth
nd
Bartletf
Streets
(EdDHJnBTriE
Phone
2-6115
.
Medford
(EmrEwnBODiLiEir
18. N. GRAPE
PH. 3-1971