HOW TO NAME THE BIRDS. 



There may be also in the study of birds a sentiment that 

 is born of fact and accuracy, provable by all scientific re- 

 quirements, which will render the bird-quest a recreation, 

 and not a mental discipline; being a bridge where those 

 who can go no further, may rest and enjoy intelligently the 

 beauty and music of the bird world. Of course a little 

 learning may be a dangerous thing, but it is only so when 

 we overestimate the extent of our limited scope, and try to 

 speak a language of which we only know the alphabet. 



Nature is to be studied with the eyes of the heart, as well 

 as of the microscope, and ever so scanty a knowledge of our 

 feathered brothers helps us to feel that the realms of Nature 

 are very near to the human heart and its sympathies, and 

 that " the truth of Nature is a part of the truth of God : to 

 him who does not search it out, darkness ; to him who does, 

 infinity.' 7 



39 



