336 Roosevelt Wild Life Bulletin 



so we turn to in 7 which reads, " Size of the English Sparrow or 

 smaller," and this leads to 122. Under 122 we read, " Exceedingly 

 small. Bill long and needle-like." This does not apply so we try 



123, " Not exceedingly small. Bill not needle-like," which leads to 



124. This reads, " Wing conspicuously long and pointed," which 

 does not fit the case, so we pass to " Wing not conspicuously long 

 and pointed," under 125. This leads to 126 and reads, " With con- 

 spicuous wing bars." We did not make out this point, or our 

 notes say nothing about it. So we will assume it had wing bars 

 and try 126 and then if that does not agree we will try 127. From 

 126 we turn to 128, " Throat black," which is not the case. Then 

 129, "Throat white," leads to 130. There are two sub-heads, 130 

 and 131, and the former, 130, reads " Head bluish gray," etc., 

 which agrees with our bird better than 131. But the description in 

 the key does not agree fully, for we did not see a line encircling the 

 eye, nor the yellowish sides, and the key says nothing about a dark 

 line through the eye. 



We have come to the end of the birds under 126, " With con- 

 spicuous wing bars," so probably our assumption that the bird had 

 wing bars was wrong. So we return to 126 and start with 127, 

 " Without conspicuous wing bars," which leads to 132. Here we 

 read, " Top of the head gray in contrast to the olive-green back. A 

 white line over the eye and a darker line through it." This fits our 

 bird perfectly, so we pass to 134. Under 134 and 135 we find two 

 birds, the Red-eyed Vireo and the Tennessee Warbler, both of 

 which descriptions might fit our bird. We do not feel sure about 

 the slight differences in size, slenderness of bill or brightness of 

 coloring. Let us see what the text has to say about these birds, as 

 indicated by the references to pp. 298, 329. 



In the text we find that the Red-eyed Vireo is exceedingly com- 

 mon in the Park, while the Tennessee Warbler is rare. The descrip- 

 tion of the song of the Red-eyed Vireo agrees with the one we 

 have heard, while that of the Tennessee Warbler does not. We con- 

 clude, therefore, that our bird is probably a Red-eyed Vireo, and 

 our acquaintance with one of the common and characteristic birds 

 of the Park has begun. 



In the above case we assumed that the bird in question was seen 

 quite clearly, as to most details, and the colors clearly made out. 

 When such is not the case it will not always be possible to use the 

 key, and the bird is better left unidentified for the present. If a 

 bird has been clearly seen, and yet cannot be traced in the key, the 

 student should consult some good general handbook of birds, for 

 other species than those listed probably occur in the Park. 



