THE STUDY OF BIRDS OUT-OF-DOORS. 665 



ingtou, D. C, Sing Sing, N. Y., and Cambridge, Mass., while the 

 water-birds of Long Island are treated specially. Take the list of 

 birds from the point nearest your home as an index of those you 

 may expect to find. This may be abridged for a given season by 

 considering the times of the year at which a bird is present. 



After this slight preparation you may take to the field with a 

 much clearer understanding of the situation. Two quite differ- 

 ent ways of identifying birds are open to you. Either you may 

 shoot them, or study them through a field- or opera-glass. A 

 "bird in the hand" is a definite object whose structure and color 

 can be studied to such advantage that in most cases you will 

 afterward recognize it at sight. After learning the names of its 

 parts, its identity is simply a question of keys and descriptions. 



If you would " name the birds without a gun/' by all means 

 first visit a museum, and, with text-book in hand, study those 

 species which you have previously found are to be looked for 

 near your home. This preliminary in- 

 troduction will serve to ripen your ac- 

 quaintance in the field. A good field- or 

 opera-glass is absolutely indispensable. 

 A strong opera-glass with a large eye- 

 piece is most useful in the woods, while 

 a field-glass is more serviceable in ob- 

 serving water-birds. Study your bird as 

 closely as circumstances will permit, and 

 write on the spot a comparative descrip- 

 tion Of its Size, the shape of its bill, tail, Head of Barred Owl. 



etc., and a detailed description of its col- 

 ors. In describing form take a Robin, Chipping Sparrow, or any 

 bird you know, which best serves the purpose, as a basis for com- 

 parison. A bird's bill is generally its most diagnostic external 

 character. A sketch of it in your note-book will frequently give 

 you a good clew to its owner's family. It is of the utmost impor- 

 tance that this description should be written in the field. Not 

 only do our memories sometimes deceive us, but we really see 

 nothing with exactness until we attempt to describe it. Haunts, 

 actions, and notes should also be carefully recorded. This account 

 is your "bird in the hand," and while you can not hope to iden- 

 tify it as easily as you could a specimen, you will rarely fail to 

 learn its name, and experience will render each attempt less diffi- 

 cult than the preceding. 



The best times of the day in which to look for birds are early 

 morning and late afternoon. After a night of fasting and resting, 

 birds are active and hungry. When their appetites are satisfied 

 they rest quietly until afternoon, hunger again sending them 

 forth in search of food. 



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VOL. XLVII. 00 



