206 BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 



in early July at its longest, with the exceptions of the song sparrow, the 

 meadow lark, winter wren, the vireos, and a few others. Hence the 

 calls and cries of the birds should be learned if one's observations are to 

 be extended throughout the year. Indeed, in late July and during 

 August, few birds are seen, as then they are strangely silent and it is 

 only by their few calls that their presence can be detected. Many birds 

 which haunt the bush allow only an occasional glimpse of them as they 

 flit through their leafy retreats; such birds must be recognized chiefly 

 by their calls. Others, like the rails, skulk among the reeds of the 

 swamp, and the observer must know their voices if he attempts to note 

 their presence. 



The manner of flight soon becomes a matter of importance in our 

 study of the bird. The skimming, darting, ceaseless flight of the swal- 

 lows is vastly different from the whirring wing-movements of the grouse. 

 The low, undulating flight of the sparrows is altogether a different move- 

 ment from the flitting, capricious, restless evolutions of the terns and 

 gulls. The hawks and eagles flap and soar overhead in ever-widening 

 circles which carry them cloud-ward; the longspurs mount upward in 

 ii-regular, progressive gradations, and then descend with outspread, un- 

 moving wings, parachute-like, singing as they descend. Our friend robin 

 speeds through the air from point to point in a straight-away course, while 

 the catbird flits from bush to bush with labored action and flipping tail. 

 The flight is so characteristic that it becomes an important aid to bird 

 recognition. 



If one is to know much about a bird, he should know where to look 

 for it. To study the bittern one must go to the reedy bog. For the sand- 

 pipers we must look along the sandy shore of lake, river, or pond. The 

 song sparrow chooses the bushes bordering the water, while the vesper 

 sparrow resorts to meadows rank with grass. The redstart hides the 

 beauty of its black and orange-red plumage in the depths of the swamp- 

 woods; the meadowlark scatters its ringing melody over the open fields 

 and meadows. Audubon's warbler revels in the depths of the high 

 coniferous w^oods; the vireos chant in the lower story of the deciduous 

 trees. The American dipper loves the vicinity of splashing falls and 

 foaming rapids of the mountain streams; the handsome lazuli bunting 

 prefers the edges of clearings or the telephone wires of the roadsides. 

 Thus we see that each species has its characteristic haunts, and a knowl- 

 edge of these haunts is an essential part of our study of the bird. 



The migrations of a bird, the time of its arrival in a neighborhood if it 

 is not a resident, and its departure, form a leading part of one's knowl- 

 edge of the birds of any locality. Many birds can be studied only while 

 they are loitering in a neighborhood a few days in spring or fall as they 

 journey northward or southward in their seasonal movements. The date 

 on which any species is seen, whether an old friend or a new acquaintance, 

 is worthy of permanent record. When to look for a bird is as valuable 

 knowledge as where to look for it, or how it looks. The notes regarding 

 the time of occurrence of any bird in one's neighborhood will form a series 

 of observations which in time may be collated into definite information of 

 the bird's local and seasonal movements. 



