68 



THE OOLOGIST. 



Tfie ©ofo^ist. 



NOVEMBEK. 1880. 



ORNITHOL O GICAL FA CTS, 

 FALL A CIES AND FANCIES. 



THERE are two abilities, or rather a 

 faculty and an abilit5% which, though 

 frequently seen combined in the results 

 of ornithologists' studies, are much 

 oftener found in isolation ; and orni- 

 thology, as well as other sciences, has 

 been deprived, in consequence, of facts 

 which many a time would have concil- 

 iated a disputed point, removed a 

 doubt, or opened new information to 

 the public. We refer to the inherent 

 faculty of close observation, and the 

 ability to successfully and graphically 

 transmit the facts to papers for public 

 recognition. A good ornithologist is 

 not always naturally able to convey 

 liis ideas to others in the glowing 

 terms of the rhetorician ; and, aware 

 of t:d8 weakness, if so it be, is unwill- 

 ing that others should receive his in- 

 formation in his own rough and un- 

 wieldy way. Observations are thus 

 withheld from public notice, which 

 would not only be interesting, but 

 most valuable to science ; while slower 

 men accidentally discover the same 

 facts a long time afterward, and pub- 

 lish them with great credit to them 

 selves. Of course the latter are not 

 assuming to deprive the proper dis- 

 coverers of the merit of his priority, 

 because they suppose discovery origi- 

 nal with themselves — careful search of 



the records fails to reveal a similar 

 occurrence. The observation made by 

 the later party is commented on at 

 length by themselves and contempora- 

 ries, while the original and best in- 

 formed discoverer is not aware that 

 what he had learned years before, and 

 accurately observed in all its details, 

 had just been found out, a simple fact 

 in itself, and published with great 

 flourish of descrij^tion. This is a state 

 of affairs that never can be remedied, 

 except b}' the co-operation of every 

 ornithological student of the land 

 with the press. Conversation of even 

 the better informed and well educated 

 bird authorities, with obscure and un 

 taught, but well observed men, contin- 

 ually veveals ornithological observation 

 never before thought of, and of course 

 of value. The discoverer did not want 

 to publish it because he could not 

 write well enough ; or he never ha. ' 

 much opportunity to read the papers, 

 and was not aware of the importance 

 of ornithological information, or of 

 what he had seen. Dr. Coues had 

 once said that ornithologists should 

 not be expected to know everything 

 about birds. It is impossible for one 

 man, even though ht be an author and 

 have access to all tae published dis- 

 coveries and labors c f others, to know 

 more than his shau, or to possess 

 more than an excetoingly small pro- 

 portion of all bird knowledge. There 

 must be many observers, whose com- 

 bined efforts, however small individu 

 ally, with the assistanc e of the ornitho- 

 logical collaborator, go to form the 

 gist of our bird knowledge. Those 

 who consider themselves well posted 

 may learn a vast deal from bird books, 

 and are often confronted with state- 

 ments that they were almost positive 

 no one else was aware of b^it them- 

 selves. 



But the science of ornithology 

 should not be deprived of valuable 

 material, because of the observer's in- 



