OUR COMMON BIRDS AND HOW TO KNOW THEM 
THE equipment necessary for an observer of birds is not large. He needs only a 
pocket note-book, a good opera or field glass, stout and easy boots or shoes and clothing 
of strong texture and inconspicuous color ; these for the field. For the study he must 
have a good book of reference (there is none better than A Key To THE Birps oF NorTH 
America, by Dr. Elliott Coues), and a journal. The notes made during a ramble will, 
of course, be hasty, incomplete, in short mere memoranda ; but the transcriptions of 
these into the journal should be elaborated with care, and in the best literary style 
possible. This journal will be frequently read, both by its writer and probably by his 
friends, and it may with great likelihood form the basis of future publication. Moreover, 
it should be written out as soon as possible after the excursion whose results are to be 
recorded, and while the observations regarding markings and habits of specimens remain 
clear in the memory ; for, if this be not systematically done, and if the notes of several 
days’ ramblings be allowed to accumulate, it is more than likely that there will be a 
confusion of the facts beyond the power of the field book to disentangle. 
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