BEGINNINGS OF BIRD STUDY 19 



*old that I was driven out on the beach at I A.M. 

 to collect, by moonlight, not owls, but fire-wood. 

 One Saturday, in winter, I was booked for an all-day's 

 tramp. I had been feeling unwell and strangely inac- 

 tive, and when I started it seemed wonderfully hard 

 to walk, but I thought the lethargy would be forgot- 

 ten when I saw the birds. Finally, about eight miles 

 from home, I laid down on a snow-bank almost ex- 

 hausted. It was off from any line of transportation, 

 so somehow or other I managed to drag myself home. 

 The doctor was at once summoned and found it a 

 severe case of measles. It was weeks before I saw 

 the birds again. 



This is the sort of spirit which is animating thou- 

 sands of people in these days who are interested, or 

 becoming interested, in birds; not because bird-study 

 is a fad, but because they find real pleasure in it. 

 There is no question but that the birds as a class have 

 peculiar elements of popularity. They are living 

 and animated, beautiful in form and color, with 

 powers of flight and song, not dangerous, of con- 

 venient size, and, as yet, sufficiently numerous to be 

 found without too great difficulty. 



The last statement is not true, in most sections of 

 the country, with mammals. There are but few 

 species to be found, and nearly all of these are scarce, 

 shy, and mostly nocturnal, so that to specialize in 

 their study would be too discouraging to be popular. 

 Most people cannot enjoy insects and reptiles, and 

 fish are more easily hooked than studied. Botany 



