42 
L'SEFL’L BIRDS 
HOW TO STUDY BIRDS. 
I^'or one disposed to make a study of l)irds, a few reliable and 
helpful books, referred to elsewhere in this pamphlet, a pair of 
held gdasses (inexpensive ones if necessary), a camera, if one should 
have the time and inclination towards that phase of the work, and 
a love of held and wood to invite to the haunts of birds is all that 
is necessary. Observation sheets may he obtained from the Bu- 
reau of Biological Survey at A\Oshington, and this Bureau is al- 
ways glad to receive notes on bird migration and kindred 
l)henomena. 
ddie writer, as a result of se\xral years’ observation, constructed 
a table for reference, something as follows: — Twelve s|)aces, sepa- 
rated from each other by heavy lines were made on card or cards 
of suitable size for the [)ocket. These spaces represented the 
months. An additional wider space v/as left on the left for birds’ 
names. Oi)posite the name of each bird studied was entered a 
mark denoting whether the bird wais common, fairly common, rare, 
or a summer resident, a permanent resident, or an occasional vis- 
itor. A line Avas drawm through the month spaces so as to show 
date of its appearance and departure- For instance, opposite the 
name of robin, appeared a long heaA^y dash running from the latter 
part of the space devoted to March, through the space devoted to 
the intervening months, and into November far enough to indicate 
approximately the date of departure of the robins. A l)ird which 
was a summer resident, though rare, wanild have a lineal mark of 
some sort, possibly a broken line, differing from the line indicating- 
a common resident put against th.e robin’s name. This line would 
also ])a.‘^s through the summer months, and so on. 
This of course is somewhat crude l)ut will serve as a sugges- 
tion to students of bird life, Tliese cards (and two would suffice 
if one made use of hue writing) were inclosed in a leather cov- 
ered case and carried in the pocket, forming a ready reference for 
use in the woods. On starting into the held one could tell at a 
glance what birds might be met Avith. XeAV and unrecorded obser- 
vations Avould occasionally call for changes on cards, and these 
could be easily made. 
Hew to Attract the Birds: AlloAving that birds deserA-e our 
protection, one naturallv asks, Avhat can Ave do to draAV them about 
us. Trees and shrub1)ery of course attract them, and AlcAtee 
( h'armers’ Bulletin 621, P)ureau Biological Survey) gives a list of 
about 80 trees or sbrubs — a ])ortion of Avhich groAv in ^Minnesota — - 
