24 A GUIDE TO THE BIRDS 



stress has been laid in these keys on a combination of char- 

 acteristics than on any one set, nor need the failure to note 

 any one mark block the student's way entirely. 



After the size, general color, and conspicuous marks have 

 been noted, one should observe any tricks of attitude or 

 gait, such as hopping, walking, tilting the tail, bobbing 

 the head, raising crest-feathers, etc. The bird's feeding 

 habits are also important ; one should note whether it 

 scratches for seeds, flies out into the air after insects, or 

 gleans them from the trunk or twigs of trees. 



Lastly, one should notice the kind of country in which the 

 bird is seen, whether marsh, meadow, orchard, thicket, or 

 forest. The term plantation is used occasionally in this Guide 

 to designate ground which has been planted with trees and 

 bushes, as on large estates. It is important, in noting the 

 locality where a bird is seen, to look about and see what 

 kind of ground is found near by ; a marsh a few rods away 

 will explain the presence of a Red-winged Blackbird in a 

 roadside tree. In times of heavy migration, it is true, a bird 

 may appear almost anywhere, and Swamp Sparrows will 

 turn up in backyards ; but, as a rule, the nature of a bird's 

 food forces it, even in migration, to show preference for cer- 

 tain haunts. When a beginner grasps the fact that he will 

 never see a House Wren clinging to a bulrush, or a Marsh 

 Wren in an apple orchard, he may do much in the way of 

 eliminating improbable birds. Another important and much 

 neglected means of assistance in identification is afforded by 

 taking into account the time of year : certain birds are never 

 here in January (exceptions, of course, occur, but may be ig- 

 nored by the beginner) ; others are found only in winter. 

 The keys have therefore been arranged so that each season 

 has its own key, and reference should be made only to that ; 

 it will sometimes happen, however, that a bird will appear 

 late in one month, though it regularly comes early in the 

 next, and is provided for in the following key. 



