282 Birds of Oregon and Washington 



seem to some a confused and disordered succes- 

 sion of species. Established pedagogical psy- 

 chology begins with interest in the individual, 

 and advances, through observations of many indi- 

 viduals, to the associations which gradually lead 

 to classification into families. 



An objective interest must wait upon the 

 presence of the birds in the given locality, and 

 the presence of the birds will be determined 

 largely by the season. A " seasonal order " is, 

 therefore, for the most part, followed. But in a 

 few instances in the book, birds are presented in 

 families, because it is taken for granted that, 

 after a time, pupils will be going from the birds 

 they have seen to the book, rather than from the 

 book to the birds ; their convenience in the mat- 

 ter of reference will be served by grouping 

 " The Gulls," " The Wrens " and some other 

 families of birds, the members of which are al- 

 ready associated in the minds of the pupils. 



The kind of interest assumed is clearly pointed 

 out in the first chapter in this book, " A word 

 to Beginners and Teachers." But it cannot be 

 repeated too often that a living, sympathetic 

 and aesthetic, and not a scientific, interest in bird- 



