How to Study Birds 



By Gerard Alan Abbott 



All temperate North America is inhabited twelve months of the year by 

 bird-life. Our feathered friends exist in greater numbers than most people 

 suppose. It is desirable to commence observations about the first of the year, 

 for in January, though our bird ranks are greatly depleted, the hardy winter 

 residents may be observed with ease as there is little foliage to obstruct the view. 

 Inexhaustible patience together with "bulldog persistence" is productive of the 

 best results. We may become botanists or geologists with the realization that 

 the object of our search exists in a given locality, but the bird student finds a 

 constant change taking place in his field. The bird he desires most to examine 

 becomes elusive and keeps him constantly on the alert. 



A good pair of field or opera glasses are valuable in determining the colors 

 or markings on various birds but our chief aim is to learn how and when to look 

 for a given variety. 



One need not absent himself from inhabited sections in order to become 

 acquianted with the common and many of the rarer birds. The average 200-acre 

 farm with its natural timber and lake or water-course is an ideal spot for bird 

 study. Birds, in their efforts to avoid their natural enemies, such as prowling 

 mammals, birds of prey and reptiles, are inclined to seek rather than avoid the 

 domains of man. You may be surprised to learn how many birds visit dooryards 

 and orchards in the rural districts annually. Alany are only migrants on their 

 way to and from a more northerly latitude, but from ten to twenty-five varieties 

 are common about our dwellings, orchards and pastures. 



Let the bird student who is to acquire a knowledge of bird life by observa- 

 tion, avoid the society of other persons when going "birding." It may be 

 interesting to have human companionship and some one to share with you in 

 the finds you hope to make. Usually the naturalist never lacks companionship 

 simi)ly because he is without the company of other people. To the lover of the 

 prairies, water-courses ami tinil»er lands — for such he must be to successfully 

 ac(|uaint himself with our feathered creatures — there can be no longing for com- 

 panionship. The nodding flowers, swaying branches, rippling brooks and breezy 

 meadows all convey messages of their own. 



I -et us take for exam])lc a given area not to exceed fifty miles from Lake 

 Michigan anywhere within an imaginary line drawn from a point in south- 

 western Michigan through n(»rlhorn Infliana and Illinois, thence northward into 

 southeastern Wisconsin. During January we ba\r with us such birds as the 

 downy woodpecker, white-breasted nuthatch and chickadee, which are fond of 

 each other's company and (|uite likely to be observeil together, moving about 

 the trees in nur dooryanls. orcli.irds or w ooillauiis. riie noisv bluejays are 



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