Study of Birds 



Only an expert can identify more than a few birds in flight or at a dis- 

 tance. Portraits of Wilson and Audubon, our greatest early American 

 ornithologists, usually show them with their shot-guns at hand. Since modern 

 ideas of conservation prohibit the use of shot-gun and snare, field observation 

 of the characters upon which classification depends is almost impossible. The 

 beginner is strongly advised to devote considerable time at first to the study 

 of mounted specimens in a museum or, if a museum is not available, to the 

 study of a set of good bird pictures. By the use of a general outline of 

 classification, such as the one given here, he can learn the characteristics of the 

 principal families, and can then use any of the standard bird books to follow 

 up the study to species. It will be noted that, in most handbooks on birds, the 

 keys are based largely on color and the few outstanding peculiarities which 

 can be seen in the field. This grouping by color makes the learning of bird 

 classification seem hopeless without a foundation of museum or book study. 



For field study, a small notebook and a pair of 6X or 8X field glasses are 

 needed. Birds are usually most actively feeding and easily watched in the 

 first two or three hours of daylight. Most of them retire into secure hiding 

 places later in the day, when one can get only hasty glimpses of them. Usually 

 the best policy is to seek a likely place, such as a shrubby forest edge near 

 water, and to attempt to imitate a stump until the birds become accustomed 

 to one's presence. The field glasses should be achromatic or, when one looks 

 at a bird in the tree tops, it will appear, even though it be a dull-colored 

 starling, to wear a halo of rainbow hues. The notebook is to enable one to 

 record data that will aid in identifying the bird later. 



A few pointers may be helpful. First, check on size, using such standards 

 as the familiar English (house) sparrow, the robin and the crow. Next, 

 record any distinctive color patches and their positions. If possible, try to 

 determine the shape of the beak — whether it is the short, heavy, seed-crushing 

 beak of the sparrow, the long, slender, probing beak of the thrush, the minutely 

 hooked beak of the flycatcher, or the prominently hooked beak of the bird of 

 prey. If the bird has any particular call or song, try to record that either 

 by words, as "phoebe" or "bob-white", or by a slanting line that curves up 

 and down as the notes rise and fall. Note also the habitat, whether tree-tops, 

 bushes or ground. If the bird flies, notice whether its flight is straight or un- 

 dulating, and whether it pulls in its neck and legs or flies with them out- 

 stretched. 



Study of the nests and eggs is also fascinating. Fortunately, laws restrict 

 the collection of eggs but, when the young have flown, the nests may be 

 collected and no harm done. In observing a nest, care should be taken not to 

 disarrange the surroundings or it may be exposed to sun and rain or to the 



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