HOW TO KNOW THE BIRDS 



21 



to recognise, at sight, the various flitting 

 forms of feathered hfe, which one may 



SWALLOWS ON A 

 TELEGRAPH WIRE. 



chance to meet by land or water through- 

 out the year. 



It is impossible to draw a strict line 

 of demarcation between birds of the 

 sea, sky, or trees, or those frequent- 

 ing sand, mud, or rocky shore. If we 

 attempt to classify, either by approximate 

 size, general coloration, formation, or 

 manner of flight alone, inevitable con- 

 fusion awaits us ; and even if we heard 

 the note of ever\' bird we saw, and could 

 copy it suificientlv well to satisfy our- 

 selves, we should be met with the diffi- 

 culty that all people do not hear exactly 

 alike, and therefore we might not 

 be able to convey to another the 

 information that we desired. There 

 are, of course, manv birds which, 

 once identified, could not possibh", 

 in note or appearance, be again 

 mistaken ; but on the other hand, 

 there are also many which so 

 closely resemble one another, that 

 very careful and minute examina- 

 tion is absolutely necessary before 

 we can determine the species, 

 whilst in others the dissecting 

 knife alone can declare the sex. 



nn means pretend to form a precise and 

 all-sufficient guitle to the identification 

 of birds, but are intended only to afford 

 some hints and suggestions which may 

 prove useful in assisting to name the 

 commoner birds of our country. It will 

 be as well in the first place to say a few 

 words about those bodily parts which 

 all birds possess in common, and to 

 remember that " use increases, and dis- 

 use decreases parts," from which we may 

 infer that the special development or 

 modification of the legs or wings, feet 

 or beak, of any given bird will tell us 

 something of its life-history, habits, and 

 habitat, and thus help us towards its 

 identification. 



Thus those birds which spend most of 

 their time in the air, and procure their 

 food whilst flying, will be found to 

 possess highly developed wings. Of such 

 birds the Swallow tribe afford a striking 

 example. Those which seldom fly, and 

 procure their food from the groimd, re- 

 quire feet well fitted for rapid nmning ; 

 hence we find the hind toe either entirely 

 absent or quite nidimentarv in such 

 rasorial birds as Bustards and Partridges. 

 Swimming birds, again, will be found to 

 possess keel-shaped bodies, close, water- 

 proof feathering, and feet adapted for 

 paddling, webbed in the Ducks, lobated 

 in the Grebes. Birds which wade in 

 water for a living have long, bare legs, 

 and comparatively elongated necks and 

 beaks — the Curlew and Snipe, for in- 

 stance. Those which prey upon others 

 require not only great wing power, but 

 also claws to hold and beaks to rend ; 

 hence we find that the Hawk tribe have 

 not only the proverbial eagle-eye, but 



The followmg remarks, then, by types of swimmers: mallard and wild ducks on ice. 



