HINTS ON FINDING AND NAMING BIRDS 



Carry a pencil and pocket memorandum book 

 and use them on the spot. A field glass or an 

 opera glass is a great help. It is best to dress 

 plainly, and well to wear waterproof shoes. If 

 the sun shines brightly try to keep it at your 

 back, so that your birds shall be in a favorable 

 light. The earliest and the latest hours of day- 

 light are best, morning preferred for most species. 

 Above all aim to see particularly and distinctly. 

 General and inaccurate impressions are of little or 

 no use. When still in doubt of a species on reach- 

 ing home consult as soon as possible an authentic 

 book* or, if you have one, an -ornithological friend. 

 You will accomplish most if you go afield alone 

 or with one agreeable companion. This study 

 demands great patience, a reasonable amount of 

 caution, and at least some common sense. 



*See Introduction. 



BIRD VOICES 



The voices of birds play a prominent part in the 

 identification of birds in the field, particularly in 

 subsequent meetings with birds which we have al- 

 ready come to know. It seems to the writer that 

 the voices of our common birds are more distinc- 

 tive, generally speaking, than their colors. And 

 yet, as with the speech of individual persons, it is 

 no simple task to convey to another descriptions of 

 these voices which will prove of practical guid- 

 ance to the identity of their owners. Various 

 methods of expression have been tried. Musical 

 notation and written words are successful in some 

 cases. But this is a large subject and requires, if 

 it is to be of any practical value, too much space 

 and detail to be more than touched on here.* 



* For detailed and helpful descriptions of bird 

 voices, "Fieldbook of Wild Birds and Their Music" 

 (Mathews) is recommended. 



14 



