HINTS TO AUDUBON WORKERS.* 



FIFTY COMMON 



IRDS AND HOW TO KNOW THEM, 

 APPENDIX. 



AS the birds are hurrying north now, 

 and new forms are seen and new 

 songs heard every day, it may be a help to 

 summarize the facts gathered about our 

 "fifty common birds," so that you can re- 

 cognize them more readily in the field, and 

 can get clues to the other birds, common 

 and uncommon, that are still to be studied. 



You have probably noticed already that 

 the birds migrate at night, and may have 

 speculated on their reasons — the greater 

 prominence of the landscape sign posts, 

 such as rivers and mountains, in the night; 

 the fact that the pot-hunter and the wicked 

 small boy are securely tucked between the 

 sheets then, so that only the kindly astro- 

 nomer notes their flight; the greater cool- 

 ness of the night air; and— who can say 

 that the Dipper points no guiding North 

 Star for them ? 



But wherever speculation leads you, it 

 does not affect the course of the birds, and 

 when morning comes you will find that each 

 bird, or flock of birds, is looking for break- 

 fast in its own favorite locality — not always 

 the sort of spot it chooses to nest in, but 

 one marked enough to show individual 

 taste. As this suggests, of course, the true 

 way to see all the birds that pass is to go 

 carefully through all the varieties of forest 

 and field — dense woods, clearing, marsh and 

 meadow. But if you have not time for this 

 every day, the best way is to have a short 

 beat and go over it, if possible, every morn- 

 ing and evening. Take the sunny side of 

 an open woods, or even an old orchard or 

 garden, and if you watch closely, you will 

 see an astonishing number of old friends 

 before the season is over. And if you know 

 only a few birds, spring is the best time to 

 make new friends. It is altogether easier 

 than fall. The songs are in their perfection, 



* Copyright, i8S8, by Florence A. Merriam. 



and plumage is most strongly marked. In 

 the fall, the old birds come back more in- 

 tent on talking than singing; and then, be- 

 sides wearing motley themselves, bring with 

 them a troop of youngsters that may be 

 masquerading for all you could guess of 

 their ancestry, unless you knew the secret 

 of their dominos. 



Moreover, in April and May the birds 

 give us an excuse for getting out into the 

 spring, and their jubilant happiness covers 

 any poetic lapse, or childish exuberance 

 of spirit our staid blasd selves may be star- 

 tled into. Spring ! — let the poets sing of it, 

 and listen to them if you will, but you can 

 never know what they mean or what spring 

 is until you have felt the first tremulous 

 warble of the bluebird, and picked wild 

 flowers in the hermitage of the "swamp 

 angel." 



General Family Characteristics of Birds 

 Treated. 



woodpeckers. 



Plumage, largely black and white. Bill, strong 



and long for drilling through bark and wood. Flight, 



noisy, flickering. Call, loud and shrill. Song, 



wanting, except as they drum on trees, etc. Habits, 



phlegmatic, most of time spent clinging, erect, to 



sides of tree trunks. (Exception, yellowhammer; 



Plumage, brownish, instead of black and white; nest 



lower;. song, a loud full trill; habits, more hke ground 



woodpecker; haunts ant hills, fields and fence posts, 



etc.) 



flycatchers. 



Dull, gray birds with big heads and shoulders. 

 Males and females similar in plumage. Bills hooked 

 at end. Songless or with short song (wood pewee, 

 three notes). Habits, hunt by lying in wait for in- 

 sects and then springing at them with nervous 

 spasmodic movements. (Exception, kingbird: Large- 

 ly silent and motionless when not watching for food.) 



BLACKBIRDS AND ORIOLES. 



Plumage, striking, black prominent. (Exception, 



