Older pici — Woodpeckers. Toes 4, 

 two in front and two behind ; adapted 

 for climbing, bill strong, skull hard and 

 brittle; tail feathers very stiff and point- 

 ed, acting as a support in climbing. 



Order macrochires — Goatsuckers and 

 Swifts. Feet small and weak, with little 

 grasping power; bill small and short; 

 mouth large, with, in some cases, hair- 

 like nets at sides of gape, which act as 

 insect traps ; wings long and pointed ; 

 tail in swift spined, to support in cling- 

 ing to a perpendicular surface. 



Order passeres — Pcrchers. Toes 4, all 

 on same level, three in front and one 

 behind; hind toes long as middle, and 

 usually longer than middle nail ; tail 

 feathers, T2. 



Divided into sub-orders, clamatores 

 and oscines Clamatores, songless perch- 

 ers. True fly catchers, ten developed 

 primaries and fewer and less developed 

 muscles in the syrinx or voice producing 

 organ than oscines. Oscines, song 

 perchers. Less than ten primaries, more 

 muscles and much higher development 

 in syrinx than clamatores. 



Identification. 



The problem of identification is one 

 which presents itself as more or less in- 

 surmountable to the student of any life 

 forms, and is responsible for a discontin- 

 uance of effort among many of the less 

 enthusiastic, while with those to whom a 

 certain knowledge of life is necessary 

 for varied reasons, the first question 

 asked the naturalist is where can we- get 

 text-books to tell us about these animals 

 or birds, as the case may be. 



The extent of the predominance of 

 theoretical over the practical training in 

 our modern educational system is re- 

 sponsible for many erroneous ideas, and 

 in no branch of investigation are these 

 erroneous notions more prevalent to-day 

 than in nature studies, and this prema- 

 ture inquiry for text-books on the part 

 of the student is a striking proof of the 

 unpractical training received, while to 

 awaken enthusiasm and interest in the 

 practical side of the work seems an 

 endless and thankless undertaking. In 

 answering the foregoing question. I may 

 say that your text-book or your orni- 

 thological friend who can introduce you 

 to the birds is in the same position as 

 your friend who can introduce you to a 

 desired new acquaintance and you must 

 exercise precisely the same judgment in 

 ■"•our descriptions of a bird you wish 

 identified as you would in the case of 

 your description of the stranger you de- 



sired to know. You must go among 

 them and become acquainted with their 

 individuality first and their color last. 



Do not come in with a rush and ask : 

 " What bird is it that is black and gray 

 and has a long tail ? " and expect the 

 ornithologist to pick out of the hundreds 

 of species, presenting thousands of dif- 

 ferent plumages known to him, the bird 

 you saw, neither condemn your text- 

 book because it fails to enlighten you as 

 to which of the scores of black and gray 

 long-tailed birds you happen to have 

 seen. Go back and see what shape and 

 size the bird was, where he was when 

 you saw him, what he did when you saw 

 him, if necessary chase him, make him 

 rly and describe his flight, try and note 

 the call or cry he gives, then put this 

 carefully in your note book, describing 

 also where he is gray and where he is 

 black, be accurate as to color, do not 

 call blue gray or gray blue, and, if it is 

 blue gray say so; then come to your 

 book or your ornithological friend and 

 the possibilities are you will learn the 

 name of the bird and much of its life 

 habits, and will know it in future from 

 any other bird for the same reason that 

 you know Mr. Brown from Mr. Jones. 



Taking alone the question of variation 

 in the groups under consideration, we 

 may of many species secure a series of 

 one hundred skins of different plumages 

 in one season and the following spring 

 or fall secure as many more before we 

 have a thoroughly graded series of 

 young, immature, breeding and winter 

 plumages of the species. 



Many birds such as our red-winged 

 blackbird, bobolink. Baltimore oriole, 

 pine grosbeak, purplefinch, rosebreasted 

 grosbeak and many of the sparrows and 

 warblers, take from two to four years to 

 mature in plumage, the sexes at all age? 

 differing also; while with the bobolink, 

 goldfinch, longspur and many sparrows 

 and warblers the adult males, females 

 and young leave us in the fall all dre c s- 

 ed in a uniform nlumage, returning to us 

 in the spring clothed according to aee 

 and sex. So that identification by indi- 

 viduality is the only solution of the 

 vexed question. Some birds, like some 

 people, wear the same colored suit win- 

 ter and summer, adult and young alike, 

 but these cases are rare among our high 

 co'ored birds, the most striking being 

 possibly the evening grosbeak. 



Individuality. 



The discussion of the question of prac- 

 tical methods in the identification of 



