Vol. XXXIIIl 



1916 



J Huxley, Bird-watching and Biological Science. 257 



thorough investigation in any one year, other birds will constantly 

 be bringing interesting points to your notice. These should, of 

 course, all be put on record. I have tried various methods, and 

 have at last come to regard the card-index and folder system as by 

 far the most convenient. Have a card-index drawer of 3" X 5" 

 or, preferably, 4" X 6" cards. Each species on which you have 

 notes is to have its own place; the species should be arranged in 

 some definite classificatory order, preferably that of the A. O. U. 

 Check-List, with guide-cards for the families, and possibly others 

 of another color for the genera. Or the genera and species can be 

 arranged alphabetically within the limits of the family. On the 

 cards belonging to each species your field notes should be sum- 

 marized very briefly under various headings. I recommend the 

 following sub-division as one affording easy reference: — 



(a) Autumn and Winter habits. 



(b) Actions connected with the beginning of the breeding season 

 (?'. e. in monogamous birds, pairing-up habits). 



(c) Courtship and Display (including Song). 



(d) Fighting, and actions connected with Jealousy (including 

 questions of Territory). 



(e) Nest-building, Egg-laying, and associated actions. 



(f) Incubation and care of the young. 



(g) General Miscellaneous notes, including localities, identifica- 

 tion, call-notes, etc. 



A few remarks on the scope of these subdivisions will, I think, be 

 useful; perhaps the best way is to put a set of questions which 

 must be answered for any species before we can consider ourselves 

 in possession of its full annual history. I will take the headings in 

 their order. 



(a) Antumn and Winter habits: (1) Is the individual, pair, 

 family, flock, or composite flock the unit? (Examples : In the Red- 

 breast, Erithacus rubecula, the birds are solitary all through the 

 winter; in early autumn the old birds and the full-grown young 

 have fierce fights. This is due to the fact that the birds are non- 

 migratory and in winter each requires a definite territory to support 

 life. By composite flock I mean a flock composed of two or more 

 species. For instance, in Europe Rooks and Jackdaws often feed 

 together, and the small woodland non-migratory birds often band 



