HINTS FOR BEGINNERS. 



The writer is often asked how one can get started 

 in the study of birds. It is comparatively easy to 

 know the flowers. Any of the popular illustrated 

 books, like Mrs. Dana's, in which the flowers are classi- 

 fied by color and season, furnish all the information 

 desired ; and with the flower in your hand, to find its 

 counterpart in the book is as easy as matching ribbon. 

 But with birds, it is another matter. They will not 

 stay still, and they all look alike to the novice. How 

 can an amateur tell whether the bird has a striped 

 crown or yellow wing-bars or white blotches on its 

 outer tail-feathers or a black line through its eye when 

 all that is seen is a confused blur as the creature flies 

 past? 



It is impossible to do anything till one's eyes are 

 trained. Begin with the robin. Of course we all rec- 

 ognize the robin ; but how many know him ? Ask any- 

 one, not a bird student, about his length, and you will 

 get answers varying all the way from six to sixteen 

 inches. The robin's length is ten inches, and he is 

 the standard measuring-rod. All birds over that 

 length are considered large ; and those less in size, the 



