A First Glance at the Birds, 



Upon the remotest of ocean seas, as 

 upon the barrenest of rocky shores, 

 some birds find an abiding place, and 

 there is a joy in their companionship 

 which cannot be translated into words. 

 You who would find a new delight in 

 the wild and waste places of the earth, 

 a new meaning to life, and an enlarged 

 sympathy with your fellow creatures, 

 should seek them out, not in the books 

 but in their homes. One bird learned 

 and known as an individual creature, 

 with a life all its own, is worth volumes 

 of reading. Listen to their call-notes; 

 observe their plumage and their motions, 

 seek out their homes, and note their 

 devotion to their young. Then will the 

 lower animals become invested with a 

 new dignity, and the homes builded not 

 with hands will become as sacred as the 

 dwelling-place of your neighbor. 



