NATURE'S CALENDAR 



ter, in fact, for most birds forsake the 

 woods and prefer village gardens and 

 rural orchards, fields, and roadsides. No 

 place is better than along some brook 

 that flows through an old farm and has 

 arching trees, thickets, and an occasional 

 weed - patch along its course. In such 

 circumstances birds find refuges and hid- 

 ing-places in case of alarm from a hawk 

 or weasel and plenty of food, sunshine, 

 and water. 



Don't try to do too much at once. Be 

 content to keep. one bird under observa- 

 tion until you get well acquainted with 

 him. Find a comfortable seat in some 

 retired garden, or beneath an orchard 

 tree, or beside a thicket, open your book 

 and opera-glass, and then keep quiet and 

 wait for whatever comes. You will not 

 have long to wait, and you will get a 

 nearer view and see more of the bird and 

 its behavior than if you tried to follow it : 

 if it goes away, never mind ; it is likely 

 to come back again, and the less you at- 

 tract its attention the more it will exhibit 

 its natural manners to your eager eyes. 



Always have a note-book with you, and 

 make use of it. It need not be an elabo- 

 rate affair; a few loose sheets between 

 the leaves of your hand-book wmM answer 

 all purposes ; then when you go home 

 write out in this volume, under the ap- 

 propriate date, an orderly resume of the 

 day's results. Even a mere list of the 

 birds noticed that day is better than noth- 



