THE ART OF COLLECTING BIRDS. 5 



will escape notice. The slightest chirp should be care- 

 fully followed ; the slightest motion of the branches closely 

 watched. If a bird is seen that is not fully recognized, it 

 should be shot at once, for in no other way can it be de- 

 termined whether it is not a vara avis. 



By carefully watching the motions of birds, the collector 

 will soon become so expert as to be able generally to dis- 

 tinguish the different species of Warblers, even at a dis- 

 tance. Carefully scrutinize also the tops of tall forest- 

 trees, as I have there taken, in autumn, some of the rarest 

 Warblers. 



In spring male birds are quite readily found, as they are 

 then in full song ; but the same caution must be used in 

 collecting females that is practised in autumn, as they are 

 generally shy and difficult to find. Hence it is a good rule 

 always to secure the female first, when she is seen with the 

 male ; for, in spite of all the collector's efforts, he will find 

 that there will be four males to one female in his collection. 



During winter some birds may be found in the thick 

 woods that one would hardly expect to find at this season, 

 such as the Robin, Golden-winged Woodpecker, etc. The 

 open fields should not be neglected even during snow- 

 storms, as it is then that such ordinarily cautious birds as 

 the Snowy Owl may be approached quite readily ; or the 

 capture of a Jerfalcon may reward the collector for a 

 disagreeable tramp. The salt marshes and sandy sea- 

 shores are the resort of a great many winter birds, and 

 the collector will perhaps find himself amply repaid for a 

 few visits to these localities at this season. 



Do not neglect to collect the young of birds ; by pro- 

 curing specimens of these from the time they become fully 

 fledged until they attain the perfectly mature plumage, 

 one becomes familiar with all the stages through which a 

 given species passes, and will thus avoid many errors into 

 which some of our eminent ornithologists have fallen, — 



