December 



the fox sparrow lives in summer, or the hum- 

 ming-bird in winter. 



Thirdly, a bird's general habits and song (if 

 a song-bird) afford endless entertainment, 

 whatever the locality, and in this phase of its 

 biography each person may do original work. 

 In the case of all the familiar species there is 

 now little reason to expect any important new 

 disclosures, and yet individuality asserts itself to 

 such a degree among these creatures, that such 

 an event is not impossible ; while any modifi- 

 cation of their circumstances naturally leads to 

 the development of new traits. The more they 

 are observed, the less mechanical and prescribed 

 their lives appear, and minor facts of interest 

 are coming to light from time to time in regard 

 to even the commonest species. 



But, fortunately, the interest of research in 

 this pursuit is not at all dependent upon dis- 

 covering facts, important or trivial, which have 

 never been known before. There is precisely 

 as much satisfaction in learning the ways and 

 appearance of an unfamiliar bird, and in getting 

 a clear sense of its individuality, as if the same 

 species had not been watched before by a thou- 

 sand pairs of eyes. As someone has well said, 

 every observer is for himself at least an original 



3<>7 



