HOW TO STUDY HIM 137 
This almost new and most attractive field is 
open to us to-day. It offers a charming study, 
with the added interest of discoveries to be 
made. Nor is it so hard as most persons think. 
In the beginning there are two things to 
learn: first, how to study from life; and second, 
how to identify without killing. To study is 
simply to observe closely and carefully, and to 
report accurately. 
Take a little lesson in observing: When you 
see a bird do not merely gaze idly at him, but 
take note of everything about him. What he 
is doing, how he is doing it, and all his points, © 
his size and shape, his colors and markings. 
If he is getting food, as he most often 1s, 
see whether he picks it from the tree trunk or 
gathers it from grass tops; whether he hunts it 
among leaves, bores the bark, drops to the 
ground, or sails out into the air for it. 
Then try to discover what it is — insect or 
seed, beetle, grub, or worm —and what he does 
with it, — swallow it at once, beat it to death, or 
hold it in his mouth uneaten. 
Then notice his manners, —if he stands still, 
or jerks his tail or body; if he flits about the 
branches, hovers before a flower, or hammers at 
the door of an unlucky grub behind the bark. 
Next, does he walk or hop? does he chatter or 
