xvil OUTDOOR AND INDOOR ORNITHOLOGY 401 
birds ought to be seen in their own countries’ A 
Humming-bird in a museum is a piece of wonderful 
colour ; in his own country he is something so won- 
derful that no one has ever yet described him. And 
there are certain favoured islands to which it is worth 
while to go and stop for a good long time, where 
you may be able to realise the reign of system in 
the great migrant world. Wherever you go, long 
and patient observation is what is wanted. The 
proverb “Everything comes to those that wait” is 
one for all naturalists to bear in mind. 
Indoors. 
Though a live specimen, if you can see it well, is 
worth twenty dead ones, it is seldom you can watch 
alive bird near at hand for long together and make 
out minute points. Museums, therefore, are wanted, 
not only large ones in great towns, but smaller ones 
scattered about the country. You often cannot get 
to the large ones when you want. When you are 
there, the amount of objects is distracting, and it 
is difficult to concentrate your attention on one; and 
you want specimens that you can handle, a skin that 
you can take up and examine closely, count the wing 
or tail feathers, measure the various parts, bare the 
apteria, &c., &c. Even mounted specimens, unless 
they are set up in costly style with elaborate 
surroundings, it is well to have in cases that will 
open, so that you can take them out and look at 
them all round. Specimens of the common birds 
and of the rarer ones are wanted; of the common 
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