10 Bird Day Book 



A bird key or manual is indispensable for purposes of identifica- 

 tion. Somehow, you cannot enjoy the bird's society until you know- 

 its cognomen. A bird's name may even be very inapt, and yet — well, 

 there is something in a name, even if it seems un-Shakespearean to 

 say so. It is a wonderful satisfaction to know that the flitting piece 

 of diminution in yonder tree is a golden-crowned kinglet, and not 

 a warbler or a vireo. I refer to the English names now in vogue 

 among scientific men. 



Do you ask when you had better begin the study of birds? 

 Now ! In bird study, as in most right pursuits, "now is the accepted 

 time." — Leander S. Keyser. 



m 



THE RAIN SONG 



IT ISN'T raining rain to me. 

 It's raining daifodils ; 

 In ev'ry dimpling drop I see 



Wild flowers on the hills, 

 A cloud of gray engulfs the day 



And overwhelms the town; 

 It isn't raining rain to me. 

 It's raining roses down. 



It isn't raining rain to me, 



But fields of clover bloom, 

 Where any buccaneering bee 



May find a bed and room. 

 A health, then, to the happy, 



A fig to him who frets ; 

 It isn't raining rain to me, 



It's raining violets. 



— Robert Loveman. 



i_ 



