THE YOUNG OOLOGIST. 



151 



study of Birds. 



Odd hours may be well spent in watch- 

 ing and studying the habits of birds, es- 

 pecially the most common ones. It may 

 be thought by most persons that there is 

 nothing new to be learned about birds so 

 well known as the chipping sparrow or 

 barn swallow, but many an interesting fact 

 can be picked up by anyone giving a little 

 time to their study. Now some city per- 

 son will say, what can you learn about 

 birds in a city ? I have lived in a city some 

 years, and the bulk of my study of birds 

 and their habits have come while in the 

 city. Among the birds I have noted as 

 being comwion are the Robin, Catbird, 

 Bluebird, Phoebe, Barn and ( Hiff Swallows, 

 Kingbird, Night Hawk, Baltimore Oriole, 

 Red-and-buif-shouldered Blackbird, Cow- 

 bird, Crow, House Wren, Song Sparrow, 

 Chipping Sparrow, Black Snowbird, 

 Meadow Lark, Brown Creeper and Hum- 

 mingbirds, Many more, both common 

 and rare, are seen in the course of a sea- 

 son. 



All but four or five of the birds I have 

 named nest inside of the city limits, some 

 of them in our door yards. 



While birds have habits common to all 

 the individuals of a species, they have also 

 individual traits or peculiarities, that are 

 interesting and show some degree of rea- 

 soning power. The study of general an- 

 atomy could be profitably carried on with 

 the study of habits. 



Don't think, however, that habits and 

 formation are all there is to be studied. 

 When you have a good collection of notes 

 at your disposal, j'ou are just ready to be- 

 gin another branch of studj', that of col- 

 lecting and examining the evidences of 

 reasoning power you have collected. 



Gather together all the parallel cases and 

 form your theory. Then, ever after be on 

 the watch for facts lo sustain it. A few 

 week's experience will point out more sug- 

 gestions than could be easily enumerated. 

 Let us now look to the means of study. 

 A gun is very necessary for field work, 

 but is generally out of the question in 



cities.' The best substitute is a field glass. 

 You can alwaj^s remember a bird seen 

 clearly through a field glass, and you will 

 notice many odd ways that would have 

 been lost had the bird been shot. After 

 you have all the points of color and par- 

 ticular marking, etc. , with the aid of a 

 good text book, you can determine the 

 species. 



To a beginner birds so near alike as the 

 Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, might 

 cause some trouble, but in time birds can 

 be. distinguished at first sight. In studying 

 color try and be in such a position as to 

 give the bird or object a dark back ground. 

 In closing I would say, always keep a re- 

 cord of the notes you take from day to day. 

 Don't omit a thing, because you have 

 noted it before, but always put it down. 



Syracuse, N. Y. 



An Intelligent Bird. 



In front of a window where I worked 

 last summer was a butternut tree. A hum- 

 ming-bird built her nest on a limb that grew 

 near the window, and we had an oppor- 

 tunity to watch her closely, as we could 

 look right into the nest from the window. 

 One day there was a heavy shower coming 

 up and we thought we would see if she 

 covered her young during the storm, but 

 when the first drops fell she came and took 

 in her bill one or two or thi'ee large leaves 

 growing close to the nest and laid this leaf 

 over so it completely covered the nest ; 

 then she fied away. On looking at the 

 leaf we found a hole in it and in the side 

 of the nest was a small stick that the leaf 

 was fastened to, or hooked on. After the 

 storm was over the old bird came back and 

 unhooked the leaf and the nest was per- 

 fectlj^ dry. —American Sportsman. 



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