How to Go A-Birding 



By Leander S. Keyser 



It has seemed to me that, instead of calHng on the birds personally, it might 

 be pleasant to tell how to conduct our visits and observations. What is the modus 

 operandi of bird study? 



We would suggest, first, that one should go a-birding with his heart. Nature 

 requires undivided attention. She can brook no rival if you would win from 

 her the choice secrets of her being. If you give her only half a mind, she will 

 give you but half of her revelation. You must give her your confidence before 

 she will become communicative. Dismiss your ledgers, your politics, your family 

 wrangles, the annoyances of the schoolhouse from your thought when you go 

 consorting with Nature. You must have a bird in the heart if you would see 

 and appreciate the bird in the bush. It is the heart, too, that sharpens the eyes. 

 Not all persons can become bird students because not all have the requisite en- 

 thusiasm ; not all are en rapport. 



Odd as it may appear, I would say, do not be too scientific. Not one word 

 would I utter in disparagement of the specialist and the technical student, pro- 

 viding he feels certain that he can add something new and valuable to science ; 

 but for popular amateur bird study I should protest against the slaughter of 

 feathered innocents either for identification or structural research. Do not 

 look upon birds as mere anatomical specimens. You need not kill and dissect 

 birds to know all that is necessary about their structure, for there are many 

 scientific books that will tell you all about their physiology and anatomy. 



Study birds as sentient creatures, as interesting individuals, with wonderful 

 instinct and intelligence. The bird anatomist loves science more than he loves 

 birds, or he would never want to kill them and take them apart. 



If you really love the birds you will want to study them just as they are in 

 their outdoor haunts, where they obey the impulses of their volatile nature. To 

 do this a good opera glass is a requisite. It partly annihilates distance, and brings 

 the bird up to your eyes. You should get one with a large eye-piece, for with a 

 small one you will find some difficulty in focussing the binocular upon the desired 

 object. Be sure to avoid a glass that has bright colors, which will reflect the 

 gleam of the sun into your eyes. Dark colors are best. 



A bird key or manual is indispensable for purposes of identification. Some- 

 how, you cannot enjoy the bird's society until you know its cognomen. A bird's 

 name may even be very inapt, and yet — well, there is something in a name, even 

 if it seems un-Shakespearean to say so. It is a wonderful satisfaction to know 

 that the flitting piece of diminution in yonder tree is a golden-crowned kinglet 

 and not a warbler or a vireo. I refer to the English names now in vogue among 

 scientific men. . . . 



Do you ask when you had better begin the study of birds ? Now ! In bird 

 study, as in most right pursuits, ''now is the accepted time." 



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