14 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 
a certain degree of doubt must inevitably attach to such a method of identi- 
fication, and perhaps the most unfortunate result of this method of teaching 
lies in the belief which gradually grows up in the pupil’s mind that he can 
identify birds just as well by eye and ear as the professional with his gun. 
At the present time current literature abounds in more or less accurate 
and beautiful description of birds and bird life, and much of this material 
has not only high literary merit but considerable scientific value. Never- 
theless the trained ornithologist rarely reads such an article without detecting 
here and there evidences of ignorance or at least inaccuracy, which though 
not always glaring are nevertheless much to be regretted. It is perfectly 
true that an average keen-eyed boy or girl can readily learn to know most of 
the commoner kinds of birds in his vicinity without the use of the gun, pro- 
vided he have the instruction of a competent teacher and in addition have 
access to a suitable collection of specimens. 
But it is equally certain that no boy so taught, or for that matter any older 
person, can ever learn to know all the birds of his vicinity or even all the 
plumages of the common species, male and female, old and young, spring and 
autumn, through any such method of teaching. 
Hence careful ornithologists throughout the country have been led more 
and more to lay down the rule that the “record” of any species for a given 
locality should rest upon an actual specimen taken in that locality and either 
preserved for the examination of any one interested or at least examined 
and identified by a competent authority before being destroyed. Our state 
lists, as well as out local lists, contain too many records of rare birds which 
do not come up to these requirements. True, there are cases in which the 
most fleeting glimpse of a bird is sufficient for its identification by a good 
observer, yet the best of us make mistakes, just as the best marksman has 
his ‘off days,” and it is a good rule not to accept as a true record the mere 
observation of even the best ornithologist, unsupported by a specimen, 
unless at least there is no improbability in the occurrence of the bird at such 
a time and place. 
‘In the following pages will be found many descriptions of size, plumage, 
notes and habits, which it is hoped will help observers to recognize and 
identify to their own satisfaction many species of birds with which at present 
they are unfamiliar. It is to be hoped that identification secured in this way 
will lead to further study and closer attention, so that gradually a love of 
such knowledge may grow up in the observer and contribute throughout 
his existence to the joy of life in the open and a fuller knowledge of the 
glories of nature which surround him. Yet it should be distinctly under- 
stood that the technical descriptions in this work, and especially the artificial 
keys for the determination of birds, are intended mainly, if not entirely, 
for use with specimens in hand. A “guess” as to the length of a bird or any 
of its parts, an “impression” as to the size, location, and intensity of color 
markings may sometimes serve the same purpose as a careful examintion 
of a specimen in hand, but this is by no means the rule and especially with 
beginners is almost unsupposable. It is possible doubtless to make a field 
key by means of which a good observer (meaning a person with good eyes, 
good sense, and some field experience) may identify a considerable number 
of birds at gun-shot range, or even at a greater distance, but no attempt 
has been made in this book to prepare such field keys, the writer’s experience 
with a large number of students, old and young, during the past twenty-five 
years having convinced him that such keys, without considerable preliminary 
training, have very little value. 
