A LESSON IN BIRD STUDY. 29 



Do not become discouraged if you fail at first and 

 cannot identify the birds you see ; the rare pleas- 

 ure of finding new specimens and identifying them, 

 as you gain facility in the use of your manual, will 

 be ample reward for all your toil. 



Familiarize yourself as rapidly as possible with 

 the distinguishing features of each division and 

 subdivision, so that when you encounter a specie 

 you have never seen before, you will know in what 

 part of your manual to look for the description. 

 If you should see a wood thrush for the first time, 

 you should know enough about the various classes 

 of birds not to look for it among the flycatchers or 

 warblers. A little attention to this matter will save 

 you a great deal of time and annoyance. 



Permit me to say here, lest I be misunderstood, 

 that I do not think a manual ought to be pored 

 over and committed to memory in a routine way, 

 before any field work is done. After a general 

 idea of the classification of the birds has been, 

 acquired, go out and stud}^ them in their native 

 haunts. In acquiring a language the student 

 fixes the tables of declension and conjugation more 

 firmly in mind by constant drill in translation ; so 

 in acquiring bird-lore. When I went to the district 

 school, we used a series of readers which taught us 



