METHOD OF USING THE KEYS 353 



(3) You need an opera glass or a field glass. If this is 

 bright or glossy, cover it with gray cloth, and let this cloth 

 extend about an inch beyond the front lenses. It is well also 

 to have a folding artist's stool, as your patience may be tried 

 by an uncomfortable position. Always carry a notebook and 

 pencil with you and ».se them. 



(4) Find a good bird locality and visit it day after day, 

 until you have learned a goodly number of its feathered song- 

 sters. Good localities are such as have within easy reach 

 trees, bushes, water, swamp, upland, and lowland. 



(5) Begin your investigation in spring just before the leaves 

 expand, and attempt to find the name of one new bird at a 

 time. Let that one be a male with some decided peculiarity 

 of color, marking, note, or habit, or, if possible, all of these. 



(6) Accustom yourself to observe and remember many 

 things without removing the opera glass from your eyes. 

 Think at the start of each of the following parts : bill, back, 

 breast, belly, crown, wings, and tail, and observe something 

 peculiar about each. The ability to do this will gi-ow rapidly, 

 and you will soon be surprised at the ease with which you 

 observe. 



(7) Try to make sounds similar to those of birds, either 

 chirpings or more elaborate sounds. If you can do no better, 

 hold the finger against the lips, and, by drawing in the breath, 

 make kissing sounds somewhat like those of a bird in distress. 

 This will cause a commotion among the smaller birds, and will 

 frequently bring a number into view. Use a mechanical bird 

 whistle if you can do no better. 



(8) The true colors of birds cannot be determined with accu- 

 racy when seen against a bright sky. So for color of plumage 

 try to observe the bird when brush or grass or trees are in the 

 background. 



Method of using the Keys. — The construction of the Keys 



for the birds in the bush is on the same plan as the others in 



the book, but as the Field Keys are especially designed for 



beginners, who need more cautions and hints than others, the 



apgar's birds. — 23 



