352 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



A BIRD CENSUS. 



The taking of a "Bird Census" of any considerable territory of our 

 country would furnish a sound basis for future calculation on the in- 

 crease or decrease of certain species. Why have not more of our bird 

 observers taken up something at once so interesting and beneficial ? 



First of all, the benefit to observer or "census-taker:" The amount 

 of this unwittingly accomplished cannot be overestimated. The work 

 necessitates a constantly alert eye, an eye ready for the slightest mo- 

 tion close at hand or on a distant hillside; a constantly alert ear, ready 

 to catch the slightest but distinctive chirp nearby, or a distant song; 

 a constantly alert mind that will supplement the eye and ear by naming 

 readily the bird seen or heard, and will remember where certain 

 birds have flown to avoid a second counting. All these things neces- 

 sarily develop the senses and mind thus exercised. "But, there is a 

 great deal of work connected with all this, is there not?" No, the 

 nearest approach to work is pleasurable routine and there is very little 

 of that. 



Here is my method of recording a day's outing: For the field I use 

 a 4x6 memorandum book. In abbreviation I enter at the left of a page 

 a list of the birds I expect to see (this is easily obtainable from former 

 data of the same locality). With field glass hanging from my shoulder 

 and pencil and paper in hand, I proceed to count. From yonder pas- 

 ture come the plaintive notes of a Field Sparrow; opposite "F'd Sp." 

 comes a 1. Three Towhees cross my path; 3 opposite Towhee. When 

 more Field Sparrows are heard, the preceding figures are crossed out 

 and new ones put down. When the bird is in song a small circle fol- 

 lows the name. The sex sign may be used for rare birds. When I 

 want to record locality more definitely I use colored pencils; for in- 

 stance, red /o a certain farm house or bridge, and green beyond. This 

 gives a double field for comparison. Notes of peculiar happenings in 

 the bird world, or of nests, or wild flowers may be written on the other 

 side of the page. On my return these notes are written in my Journal, 

 and together with remarks on the weather, and anything else that will 

 characterize the day and aid me to recall it. 



Across the sheet the totals may be placed; the number of individuals 

 for the month, and the number of times seen. At the foot of the page 

 are two more totals; the number of individuals for the day and the 

 number of species. The list of birds as made out at the end of the 

 month may be in alphabetical or family order. 



Now, if I have succceeded in showing some of the advantages of 

 this method, let me contrast the old. In almost all lists of birds — from 



