Our Common Birds and How to Know Them 



the Fall he becomes streaked with different shades of brown. The American Goldfinch in 

 Summer is bright yellow with a black crown ; in the Fall the black on his head disappears 

 and the yellow of his body fades to a pale brown. And the Indigo-bird does not attain to 

 his full brilliancy of plumage until he has been with us some time. The books, however, 

 will apprise you of such changes and no serious trouble on this score need be apprehended. 

 Prepare for yourself, therefore, a list somewhat similar to that which has here been 

 given of easily distinguished birds which you may expect to meet, and seek and study 

 them. When you see a brown, plainly marked bird, observe it indeed, and even transfer 

 what you may of it to your note-book, but do not puzzle too long in the attempt to 

 name it. Close your memoranda by writing " name unknown." Rest assured that your 

 knowledge will surely augment, and such entries will occur less and less frequently. 

 It is interesting and oftentimes helpful to consult colored plates. But owing to the great 

 expense of really good ones, not everybody can do this. An extremely good plan is to 

 make an occasional visit to the institutions where stuffed specimens are kept, such as the 

 various museums of natural history. Here it may easily happen that a glance will set at 

 rest doubts that a long period of field or book study will fail to solve. 



