BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS. 
WE are so in the habit of focusing our spy- 
glasses on our human neighbors that it seems an 
easy matter to label them and their affairs, but 
when it comes to birds, — alas! not only are there 
legions of kinds, but, to our bewildered fancy, 
they look and sing and act exactly alike. Yet 
though our task seems hopeless at the outset, be- 
fore we recognize the conjurer a new world of in- 
terest and beauty has opened before us. 
The best way is the simplest. Begin with the 
commonest birds, and train your ears and eyes by 
pigeon-holing every bird you see and every song 
you hear. Classify roughly at first, — the finer 
distinctions will easily be made later. Suppose, 
for instance, you are in the fields on a spring 
morning. Standing still a moment, you hear 
what sounds like a confusion of songs. You think 
you can never tell one from another, but by listen- 
ing carefully you at once notice a difference. Some 
are true songs, with a definite melody, — and tune, 
if one may use that word, — like the song of several 
of the sparrows, with three high notes and a run 
