20 
THE NATURALIST’S GUIDE. 
the rule. Eecord the number of inches upon a strip of 
paper ; if there is a fractional part of an inch, measure it 
with the dividers, and find how many hundredths it con- 
tains upon the smaller rule, and record it. This is ^‘the 
length of the bird.” 
Stretch the wings out to the full length, with the bird 
still upon its back; measure these from tip to tip as ^Hhe 
stretch of wing.” Measure the wing from the tip to the 
carpel joint, or bend, with the dividers (Plate X. d), for ^Hhe 
length of the wing.” The tail is to be measured — also 
with the dividers — from the tip to the root for the 
length of the tail.” Measure the tarsus (Plate VII. g) as 
‘Hhe length of the tarsus.” Measure the bill, from the tip 
of the upper mandible to the base (if the base is not well 
defined, as in the Ducks, measure to the feathers) ; this is 
^^the length of bill along the culmen” (Plate III. h). 
Measure from the tip of the upper mandible to the gape 
(e) for the length from gape ” ; also from the tip of 
the lower mandible to the angle of the gonys (s) for the 
length of gonys” (c). In the Hawks, measure to the 
cere. 
The color of the eyes, feet, and bill is now observed 
and recorded, also the date of collection and the locality in 
which the bird was collected. If the bird is in worn plu- 
mage, the fact should be recorded, as this will affect the 
measurements; also if it is moulting or in perfect plu- 
mage. As the records now made are only temporary, signs 
may be used to save time, such as X- — - would denote an 
adult bird in perfect plumage, Y| would denote a 
young bird in worn plumage, YY|— | would denote a 
young bird not a year old and moulting,— this stage in the 
life of the bird is called the ^^young-of-the-year.” By 
using some such signs as these much time will be saved. 
When the collector becomes expert at measuring, he will 
find that all small birds can be measured and recorded in 
