Birds of Allegany Park 333 



Yellow-throat suggest low thick bushes; the Kingfishers, Sand- 

 pipers, Green Heron or Red-winged Blackbird, presence of marsh, 

 pond or stream. The student who relates birds to their environ- 

 ment will find that the knowledge he gains by so doing will be his 

 greatest help in intuitive field identification. 



Identification of Voice. All the other means just discussed by 

 which we can identify birds have depended on seeing the bird. But 

 the ear can be trained to distinguish birds quite as well as the eye. 

 Songs are difficult to describe with exactness, yet there is in the 

 song of each species something characteristic, something specific, 

 that distinguishes it at once from all other species. We can see a 

 bird well enough to determine its colors accurately only at a com- 

 paratively short distance, only on the side from which the light 

 comes, and only when no leaves, branches or other obstructions are 

 between us and the bird. But we can hear it as far as its voice car- 

 ries, and from any direction. 



Song cannot be used as an absolute identification in all cases, 

 for it is too variable a factor. While a large percentage of birds of 

 a given species may sing in a perfectly characteristic manner, oc- 

 casionally one may have a freak song, sufficiently lacking in the 

 characteristics of its species to make its identity doubtful until it is 

 actually seen. Even the best observer, one who can identify instantly 

 each species of thrush, vireo or warbler by its voice alone, hears 

 now and then a song that puzzles him. The bird in such cases must 

 be identified by sight. 



In regions where the Starling is abundant, one must be careful 

 in making identifications by song, for the Starling has become a 

 clever mimic of many American birds. The Catbird and Thrasher 

 likewise often imitate other birds, but their imitations are usually 

 interpolated in the midst of their own characteristic songs, so they 

 need not deceive one. But the Starling imitates Wood Pewees. 

 Cowbirds, Chickadees, Grackles and other species so perfectly that 

 the observer must be always on the alert. 



A question that will come to the observer is this, " Shall I keep 

 records of the birds I have heard only, as well as those I have 

 seen?" The answer to this depends upon circumstances. The carol 

 of the Robin, the long call of the Flicker, the peculiar trill of the 

 Field Sparrow and even many of the more difficult warbler songs, 

 are unmistakable when sung in the normal, characteristic manner 

 of the species. If the song heard is perfectly characteristic, if the 

 observer is sure he knows that song beyond question, and if there 

 is nothing unusual in season or locality about the record, then it is 

 just as good as actually seeing the bird. But if there is the least 

 question on any of these points, one should otherwise verify his 

 observation, or failing in this, should record it as doubtful. 



On the third of July, my first day in this region, as I walked 

 along the river below Salamanca, I heard a bird sing once. In- 

 stantly I thought to myself : " Orchard Oriole." Then I listened 

 again, but the bird had evidently sung all that it was going to. 

 Where to go and look for it I could not be sure. This bird is of 



