BIRDS THROUGH AN OPERA-GLASS, 



WE are so in the habit of focusing our spy- 

 glasses on our human neighbors that it seems an 

 easy matter to label them and their affairs, but 

 when it comes to birds, alas ! not only are there 

 legions of kinds, but, to our bewildered fancy, 

 they look and sing and act exactly alike. Yet 

 though our task seems hopeless at the outset, be- 

 fore we recognize the conjurer a new world of in- 

 terest and beauty has opened before us. 



The best way is the simplest. Begin with the 

 commonest birds, and train your ears and eyes by 

 pigeon-holing every bird you see and every song 

 you hear. Classify roughly at first, the finer 

 distinctions will easily be made later. Suppose, 

 for instance, you are in the fields on a spring 

 morning. Standing still a moment, you hear 

 what sounds like a confusion of songs. You think 

 you can never tell one from another, but by listen- 

 ing carefully you at once notice a difference. Some 

 are true songs, with a definite melody, and tune, 

 if one may use that word, like the song of several 

 of the sparrows, with three high notes and a run 



