BIRDS MAY BRING YOU MORE HAPPINESS 

 THAN THE WEALTH OE THE INDIES 



By Frank M. Chapman 



Tlic folhwUig article is rcprinfcil from " llird Life." a most useful guide tn 

 the study (rf our comiiuui birds, by Frank M. Chafuiau. dlustrated b\ 7s full- 

 page colored flutes after dra\oiiigs by Ernest Sctoii Tliojiifson. Mr. C'hafnwn is 

 Curator of Ornithology in the .'imcrican Museum of Xatural History: author of 

 "Handbook of Birds of Eastern Xortli America." "The Warblers of Xorth Hmer- 

 ieaf "Bird Studies loitli the Camcraf "Camps and Cruises of an Ornitliologisf." 

 and editor of "Bird Lore." 



BIRDS jjossess unusual claims to 

 onr attention. They are ])i-ac- 

 ticalh' the onh' ones of the l:i_i;her 

 animals with wliich wt may come in con- 

 tact daily. Our large mammals have 

 either been exterminated or dri\-en from 

 the \icinity of our homes, while most of 

 the smaller species are nocturnal and 

 therefore rarely seen. Reptiles and ba- 

 trachians are difficult to obser\-e and are 

 not popular, while fishes, from the nature 

 of their liaunts, can be studied r)nl\- under 

 cei'tain conditions. I'.irds, howexx'r, are 

 eYer}'where — in field and wood and s]<\-, 

 in our orchards and gardens — and sijme 

 of them are with us at all seasons. 



Hut birds' merits do not consist mereh' 

 in their abun<lance. In beauty of ])lu- 

 mage, grace of motion, and \'ocal abilit\' 

 they are without rivals: in their migra- 

 tion, mating, and nesting habits thev not 

 only display- imusual intelligence, but ex- 

 hibit human traits of character that 

 create within us a feeling of kinship with 

 them, and thus increase om^ interest in 

 and love for them. Furthermore, as with 

 increasing knowledge we begin to realize 

 their economic value, we are more than 

 ever impressed with the importance of 

 becoming acc|uainted with them. 



How unusual it is to meet any c)ne who 

 can correcth' name a dozen of our birds ! 

 One ma\- li^-e in the country and still 

 know only two or three of the one hun- 

 dred and fiftv or more kinds of birds 

 that may be found during the year. Nev- 

 ertheless, these gay, restless creatures, 

 both by voice and action, constantly in- 

 vite our attention, and the}' are far too 

 interesting and beautiful to be ignored. 

 No one to whom Nature appeals should 

 be without some knowledge of these, the 

 most attractive of her animate forms. 



An inherent love of birds is an un- 

 deniable psychological fact, which finds 



its most frequent expression in the .gen- 

 eral fondness for cage-birds. If we can 

 learn to regard the liirds of the woods 

 and fields ^\-ith all tlie affection we la\'ish 

 on our ])oor 'capti\'cs in their gilded 

 homes, \\hat an inexhaustilile store of 

 enjoN'ment is ( lurs ! 



It is not aliinc tlie Ijcautv. power of 

 song, or intelligence of 1)irds which at- 

 tracts us: it is their human attrilnite^. 

 Man exhiljits hardl\- a tr.'iit which he will 

 not find reflected in the life of a bird. 

 J.ove, hate: courage, fear: anger, ])leas- 

 nre : \'anity, modest}': virtue, vice: crm- 

 stanc^', ficlxleness : generositA', selfisjmess : 

 wit, curiositA', memory, reascm — we ma\' 

 find them all c.xhiljited in the li\'es of 

 liirds. 



Birds ha\'e thus become svmb'ilic of 

 certain human characteristics, and the 

 more common s])ecies are so inter\vo\'en 

 in our art ;in(I literature tliat h\' name at 

 least tbcA' are known to all of us. Shal-;e- 

 s])eare makes o\'er six hundred refer- 

 ences to birds or Iiird-life. If we should 

 rob A\'ordsworth's A'erses of their birds. 

 bow sadl)' mutilated what remained 

 would be ! 



I'Hlt NEVER FAir.INC CTI.ARM OI-' Till", lURP 



But wdiy lea\'e a knowlcflge of birds to 

 l^oets and naturalists? (io yourself to 

 the field and learn that birrls do not exist 

 solely in books, but are cc)ncrete, sentient 

 beings, whose acquaintance nia}' b' mg 

 you more unalloyed liappiness than the 

 wealth of the Indies. 



lohn Burroughs understands this when 

 be writes of the study of birds: "There 

 is a fascination about it quite i)\'erpower- 

 ing. It fits so well with other things — 

 with fishing, hunting, fanning, wall^'ing, 

 camping out — with all that takes one to 

 the fields and woods. One may go a 

 ])lack1)errA'ing and make some rare dis- 



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