28 A LESSON IN BIRD STUDY. 



That experience has been duplicated many times 

 since that first excursion, and even now tliere are 

 times when I become sadly confused, especially 

 when there are a dozen species of warblers in their 

 autumnal plumage glancing about in the buslies 

 and tree-tops. 



Before you start out on your first excursion to 

 study the birds in a systematic way, look over your 

 key to see how our citizens in feathers have been 

 classified by ornithologists. There is usually a table 

 somewhere in the book giving an outline of the 

 higher groups. Observe that the bird-world has 

 been divided into various orders, such as the divers, 

 the swimmers, the shore birds, the birds of prey, 

 the perchers, and so on. Then these orders have 

 been subdivided into families, and the families into 

 species. You need not commit the long Latin 

 names, unless you prefer, but familiarize 3'ourself 

 with the common names, and study the special 

 features of each group, so tliat you will not be all 

 at sea when you meet new birds. 



If you live near the sea coast or lake shore, you 

 will want to get some idea of the shore birds from 

 your key. But if you desire to study the birds of 

 the fields and woods, you should give special atten- 

 tion to the perchers, woodpeckers, birds of prey, etc. 



