SHARP EYES 43 



A man has a sharper eye than a dog, or a fox, or 

 than any of the wild creatures, but not so sharp an 

 ear or nose. But in the birds he finds his match. 

 How quickly the old turkey discovers the hawk, a 

 mere speck against the sky, and how quickly the 

 hawk discovers you if you happen to be secreted in 

 the bushes, or behind the fence near which he 

 alights! One advantage the bird surely has, and 

 that is, owing to the form, structure, and position 

 of the eye, it has a much larger field of vision, — in- 

 deed, can probably see in nearly every direction at 

 the same instant, behind as well as before. Man's 

 field of vision embraces less than half a circle hori- 

 zontally, and still less vertically ; his brow and brain 

 prevent him from seeing within many degrees of the 

 zenith without a movement of the head; the bird, 

 on the other hand, takes in nearly the whole sphere 

 at a glance. 



I find I see, almost without effort, nearly every 

 bird within sight in the field or wood I pass through 

 (a flit of the wing, a flirt of the tail are enough, 

 though the flickering leaves do all conspire to hide 

 them), and that with like ease the birds see me, 

 though unquestionably the chances are immensely in 

 their favor. The eye sees what it has the means 

 of seeing, truly. You must have the bird in your 

 heart before you can find it in the bush. The eye 

 must have purpose and aim. No one ever yet found 

 the walking fern who did not have the walking fern 

 in his mind. A person whose eye is full of Indian 

 relics picks them up in every field he walks through. 



