10 BIRDS IN THEIR RELATIONS TO MAN. 



mastered botany, entomology, and kindred subjects, that will 

 enter into his researches, before attempting to learn at least 

 the general character of the food eaten by our various birds. 

 To know whether a bird prefers insects or seeds is worth 

 while, though the name of the insect or seed consumed may 

 be beyond guessing at. The main thing, after all, in field- 

 work, is to keep an attentive eye on the birds, to learn how 

 to observe without frightening them, and to know when and 

 where the different species feed. 



The study of food habits is not usually begun until after 

 the student has gained a fair understanding of other habits 

 that are more attractive to watch and oftener dwelt upon by 

 ornithological writers. It is a sort of post-graduate course, 

 so to speak, another field into which the enthusiast, after 

 covering the old run of species, distribution, migration, nests, 

 eggs, etc., may enter if his enthusiasm holds out. There- 

 fore it is taken for granted that whoever is inclined to inves- 

 tigate the food of birds is equal to his undertaking from the 

 bird side, if no more. What he may not know about the 

 items of food in the beginning, he will become so anxious to 

 find out that his stock of information will rapidly increase. 

 If one is interested in birds, the food problem will afford a 

 good "handle 11 for picking up an interest in other branches 

 of natural history. 



For examining adult birds in the field, good vision and a 

 note-book and pencil are the chief requisites, though an 

 opera- or field-glass may often be used to advantage. War- 

 blers, vireos, and other active birds that live by foraging may 

 be quietly followed as they flit from tree to tree. In this way 

 it is not difficult to discover the character of their food and 

 about how much is consumed during a given interval of 

 time. Now and then there will be favorable moments when 

 it is possible to see for a certainty just what is taken. 

 Cuckoos, kingfishers, flycatchers, and other birds that are 

 more or less sedentary must be watched, an hour or. two 



