METHOD AND EQUIPMENT 31 



find an owl than a robin. On a day in May, during a 

 great *' wave " of migrating warblers, one very rare 

 species positively identified may be a greater " strike " 

 than the recording of twenty other more common 

 ones. It will be of great interest subsequently to 

 look over these daily records and see how the abun- 

 dance of birds in general varies, how the personnel 

 of the species changes from time to time, and when 

 this or that one is first or last seen. As each year 

 passes, it is of absorbing interest to compare the re- 

 cent notes with those of the corresponding time the 

 year previous, or of a succession of years. 



The mere recording of each species seen is not 

 enough. As birds of the same species recur, one may 

 add marks opposite the name, up to the point where 

 it is evident that this or that is abundant. Record 

 should be made, in just a few " catch-words," of all 

 Items of interest connected with birds' habits. It 

 may prove that some little point, supposed to be of no 

 value, Is really of great Interest, and worthy of wide 

 publicity. If the nest of a bird Is found, brief record 

 should be made of situation, number, and condition 

 of eggs or young, the material of the nest, the actions 

 of parents, and any other points of Interest. Casual 

 notes should be made of the progress of the season, 

 which will prove Interesting and valuable for compar- 

 ison year by year, — the first and last snow and frost, 

 the first hepatica or blood-root, great storms, and any 

 unusual conditions. 



There are some quite elaborately prepared field- 



