BIRD-PROTECTION IN THE SCHOOLS 285 



cautions will need to be observed by the teacher. 

 Children will often report very positively the appear- 

 ance of a bird a month before it is due to arrive. If 

 the teacher has access to a local calendar kept by 

 some bird-student, it will help her in knowing when 

 to expect certain birds. The migration dates for 

 several localities in the eastern United States are 

 given in Chapman's *' Handbook of Birds." If the 

 children report birds several weeks ahead of the 

 dates given on some reliable migration record, prob- 

 ably they have made a mistake and they should 

 be told so by the teacher. 



After it is probable that the bird has arrived, it 

 must be understood by the class that no bird's name 

 is to go down on the calendar till the child has given 

 such a good description of the bird that there is no 

 doubt about its being seen. In case of doubt the 

 name should not be put down. 



One important line of work is to take up in turn 

 in the various grades different species of birds so as 

 to acquaint the child each year with a few new birds. 

 For the younger children the most common and 

 conspicuous birds should be studied, with emphasis 

 placed on identification. In later grades other birds 

 may be taken up and adaptations and economic value 

 studied in addition to identification. The colored 

 plates may be used to show the colors and their 

 location as an aid to naming the birds when seen 

 outdoors. 



