Alabama, ipi8. 9 



HOW TO GO A-BIRDING 



♦©♦• 



IT HAS seemed to me that, instead of calling on the birds per- 

 sonally, it might be pleasant to tell how to conduct our visits and 

 observations. What is the modus operandi of bird study ? 



We would suggest, first, that one should go a-birding with his 

 heart. Nature requires undivided attention. She can brook no 

 rival if you would win from her the choice secrets of her being. If 

 you give her only half a mind, she will give you but half of her 

 revelation. You must give her your confidence before she will 

 become communicative. Dismiss your ledgers, your politics, your 

 family wrangles, the annoyances of the schoolhouse, from your 

 thought when you go consorting with Nature. You must have a 

 bird in the heart if you would see and appreciate the bird in the 

 bush. It is the heart, too, that sharpens the eyes. Not all persons 

 can become bird students because not all have the requisite enthu- 

 siasm; not all are enrapport. 



Odd as it may appear, I would say, do not be too scientific. Not 

 one word would I utter in disparagement of the specialist and the 

 technical student, providing he feels certain that he can add some- 

 thing new and valuable to science; but for popular amateur bird 

 study I should protest against the slaughter of feathered innocents 

 either for identification or structural research. Do not look upon 

 birds as mere anatomical specimens. You need not kill and dissect 

 birds to know all that is necessary about their structure; for there 

 are many scientific books that will tell you all about their physiology 

 and anatomy. 



Study birds as sentient creatures, as interesting individuals, 

 with wonderful instinct and intelligence. The bird anatomist loves 

 science more than he loves birds, or he would never want to kill them 

 and take them apart. 



If you really love the birds you will want to study them just as 

 they are in their outdoor haunts, where they obey the impulses of 

 their volatile nature. To do this a good opera glass is a requisite. 

 It partly annihilates distance, and brings the bird up to your eyes. 

 You should get one with a large eye-piece, for with a small one you 

 will find some diflficulty in focussing the binocular upon the desired 

 object. Be sure to avoid a glass that has bright colors, which will 

 reflect the gleam of the sun into your eyes. Dark colors are best. 



