14 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



a certain degree of doubt must inevitably attach to such a method of identi- 

 fication, and perliaps the most unfortunate result of this method of teaching 

 lies in the belief which gradually grows up in the pupil's mind that he can 

 identify birds just as well by eye and ear as the professional with his gun. 



At the present time current literature abounds in more or less accurate 

 and beautiful description of birds and bird life, and much of this material 

 has not only high literary merit but considerable scientific value. Never- 

 theless the trained ornithologist rarely reads such an article without detecting 

 here and there evidences of ignorance or at least inaccuracy, which though 

 not always glaring are nevertheless much to be regretted. It is perfectly 

 true that an average keen-eyed boy or girl can readily learn to know most of 

 the commoner kinds of birds in his vicinity without the use of the gun, pro- 

 vided he have the instruction of a competent teacher and in addition have 

 access to a suitable collection of specimens. 



But it is equally certain that no boy so taught, or for that matter any older 

 person, can ever learn to know all the birds of his vicinity or even all the 

 plumages of the common species, male and female, old and young, spring and 

 autumn, through any such method of teaching. 



Hence careful ornithologists throughout the country have been led more 

 and more to lay down the rule that the "record" of any species for a given 

 locahty should rest upon an actual specimen taken in that locality and either 

 preserved for the examination of any one interested or at least examined 

 and identified by a competent authority before being destroyed. Our state 

 hsts, as well as out local hsts, contain too many records of rare birds which 

 do not come up to these requirements. True, there are cases in which the 

 most fleeting glimpse of a bird is sufficient for its identification by a good 

 observer, yet the best of us make mistakes, just as the best marksman has 

 his "off days," and it is a good rule not to accept as a true record the mere 

 observation of even the best ornithologist, unsupported by a specimen, 

 unless at least there is no improbability in the occurrence of the bircl at such 

 a time and place. 



In the following pages will be found many descriptions of size, plumage, 

 notes and habits, which it is hoped will help observers to recognize and 

 identify to their own satisfaction many species of birds with which at present 

 they are unfamiliar. It is to be hoped that identification secured in this way 

 will lead to further study and closer attention, so that gradually a love of 

 such knowledge may grow up in the observer and contribute throughout 

 his existence to the joy of life in the open and a fuller knowledge of the 

 glories of nature which surround him. Yet it should be distinctly under- 

 stood that the technical descriptions in this work, and especially the artificial 

 keys for the determination of birds, are intended mainly, if not entirely, 

 for use with specimens in hand. A "guess" as to the length of a bird or any 

 of its parts, an "impression" as to the size, location, and intensity of color 

 markings may sometimes serve the same purpose as a careful examintion 

 of a specimen in hand, but this is by no means the rule and esiDecially with 

 beginners is almost unsupposable. It is possible doubtless to make a field 

 key by means of which a good observer (meaning a person with good eyes, 

 good sense, and some field experience) may identify a considerable number 

 of birds at gun-shot range, or even at a greater distance, but no attempt 

 has been made in this book to prepare such field keys, the writer's experience 

 with a large number of students, old and young, during the past twenty-five 

 years having convinced him that such keys, without considerable preliminary 

 training, have very little value. 



