SPECIAL FEATURES 351 



of the year are chosen, there will be no lack of birds to study ; 

 the danger is rather that there will be so many that they will 

 bewilder the beginner. 



Season. — For many reasons the best time of the year to 

 begin work is the spring and early summer. The birds are 

 then most brightly plumaged; they sing most loudly, most 

 sweetly, and most characteristically ; it is nesting time, and 

 near their nests the same birds can be seen day after day, and 

 thus can be thoroughly studied ; the young birds with their 

 plain tints are not abundant enough to confuse the student, 

 and the females are most of the time hidden from view. 



Time of day. — In spring and summer the best time of day 

 is the early morning from sunrise to 10 a.m. ; next best is the 

 evening just before sunset. The poorest time of all is the mid- 

 dle of the day. During the cold months the best hours are 

 from noon to about 3 ^.m. 



Which birds to study. — A beginner should try to determine 

 the names of only those birds that have conspicuous colors 

 or markings. They will, as a rule, be males, and are the birds 

 that have characteristic notes, and those that are especially 

 described in the Keys of this part of the book. "When a bird 

 is determined upon for study, it should be closely examined 

 through an opera glass, and as many points as possible should 

 be mentally noted before the book is opened, and even before 

 the opera glass is taken from the eyes. All bird workers first 

 become acquainted with the males, and later learn to recog- 

 nize the females and young by seeing them associated with the 

 males, and reading such descriptions as are found in Part II. of 

 this book. 



Special features to examine. — The points to be first deter- 

 mined are the size as compared to that of the English sparrow 

 and the robin ; the length of the bill as compared to the length 

 of the head ; the form of the bill, whether stout or slender; the 

 actual and comparative length of the wings and the tail ; the 

 colors, markings, etc., of the breast, the back, and the wings ; 

 the presence or absence of wing bars, and their color, if present; 



