142 Huxley, Bird-ivatching and Biological Science. LApril 



BIRD-WATCHING AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE. 

 Some Observations on the Study of Courtship in Birds. 



BY JULIAN S. HUXLEY, B.A 



There is to-day, most unhappily, too often a gap between the 

 amateur naturahsts and the pure field-workers on the one side, and 

 the trained biologists on the other. The blame, as usual, cannot 

 be laid to the account of either, for both are guilty. On the one 

 hand the professionals fight shy of amateurish methods and failure 

 to see principles behind facts, while the amateur dislikes (often 

 with justice) the other's dogmatism and his reliance on purely 

 laboratory methods. 



It is the purpose of this paper to try and show how, in ornithology 

 at least, this gap may be bridged. There is a vast army of bird- 

 lovers and bird-watchers to-day in existence, whose enthusiasm 

 needs only to be properly directed to lead them into most absorbing 

 fields, and at the same time to provide all-important material for 

 fundamental problems of biology. 



Three things only are needed: — A knowledge of what to search 

 for, a method to guide one's searching, and instruments to use in 

 the search. The instruments lie ready to our hands. It was, I 

 believe, Charles Dixon who was one of the first to realize that the 

 prismatic binocular had so enormously enlarged the potentialities 

 of field observation. The possession of one of these instruments, 

 though not absolutely indispensable, is of the utmost importance. 

 In selecting a glass three chief points are to be considered. The 

 first is high magnification, which enables the observer to catch the 

 details of attitude and expression which are so important. The 

 second is high light-gathering power and definition, which depend 

 on the size of the object-glasses. Without this, high magnification 

 is a snare and a delusion, involving strain on the eyes. The third 

 is quick adjustment of focus, for following the action of moving 

 birds. Many glasses are made with independent focusing adjust- 



> Assistant Professor of Biology in the Bice Institute, Houston, Texas. 



