CHAPTER VI 



HOW TO KNOW THE BIRDS 



Attractions of bird-study. The only way really to 

 know the birds is to study them in the field in their 

 natural environment. Bird-study furnishes one of 

 the most attractive hobbies. The pleasure that 

 birds furnish in this way makes their aesthetic value 

 quite as important as their economic value. Bird ac- 

 tivities pass through so many changes in the course 

 of a year that there is no opportunity for bird- 

 study to become monotonous. Then, too, bird-study 

 takes one out into the fields, in the open, so that the 

 setting in which bird-study is carried on is in itself 

 attractive. While the individuals of a species 

 change, the species remains about the same to us, 

 and thus we come to associate with certain birds 

 some of our pleasantest reminiscences. People and 

 conditions in our former homes may change, but as 

 we return to visit these scenes of our younger days, 

 the bird life remains unchanged to welcome us and 

 remind us of former days. ^ 



While special trips to the woods and water to look 

 for birds offer many pleasant hours, yet, perhaps, 

 the greatest pleasure from bird-study comes through 

 the observation of the birds found around one's 



