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Next, the shape of the bird is important. Note whether the 

 bird as a whole is slim or stout. Some allowance may be made 

 regarding how the feathers are carried at the time. All birds 

 can raise or lower the feathers of the body at will. They are 

 likely to appear plumper on cold days than on warm ones. 

 The bill is an important diagnostic feature. Few people who 

 describe birds to me in the hope of having them identified ever 

 mention the bill. If you can see the shape of the beak, you 

 may be able to refer the bird at once to the family to which it 

 belongs. If it is not much larger or smaller than a song spar- 

 row, and has a short conical bill, it is a seed-eater, probably 

 a sparrow. If it is a little smaller than a song sparrow, or 

 about the size of a chippy, and has a rather short but slender 

 bill, nearly straight or a trifle curved, probably it is a warbler, 

 or belongs to some other insect-eating family. Flickers, 

 cuckoos, thrashers, and creepers all have rather slender curved 

 bills. The bills of most woodpeckers are stout and straight; 

 those of most sandpipers are slim and straight, while the bills 

 of plovers resemble those of pigeons and doves. 



OLfiCK-eiUED CUCKOO . REO-T«ILtO HflWK . 



Note the shape of the tail. 



The length and shape of the tail are important. Try to see 

 whether the tail is long or short, and whether the end is 

 rounded, square, or forked. If the bird is large, with a hooked 

 beak and long tail, probably it is a hawk. If the beak is long 

 and straight, or nearly so, the tail short and the legs long, it 

 must be a heron, or some other wading bird. 



The color of the bird is very important; indeed, it is about 



