BY THE WAYSIDE. 
55 
terest of the little tots in tlieir reading and 
number lessons pales before the glow of won¬ 
der and enthusiasm as they tell of finding a 
bird’s nest while on the way to school or hear 
the story of the birds from their teacher. Let 
a teacher mention finding a sparrow’s nest and 
the school turns into an experience meeting; 
each little one having a story of his own to 
tell. In the country school this is especially 
true, as the pupils have a better chance to ob¬ 
serve birds than the children of the cities. 
I have had to work out my own plan of bird 
study in the schools, as I have never chanced 
to get another’s plan. I have had some suc¬ 
cesses and some that were not successes, but 
from these experiences I have formed a plan 
that I believe overcomes most of the diffi¬ 
culties. 
In primary grades social talks with the 
pupils is the best method. Let the pupils talk 
as much as possible. Take a single bird for a 
lesson and show a picture. By a judicious use 
of questions and statements bring out the dis¬ 
tinguishing features of the bird you are study- 
ing. I have no patience with the teacher who 
asks such questions as: How many feet has a 
bird ? What is its body covered with ? How 
many eyes has a bird? What is a bird’s nest 
for ? etc. The dull pupil does not learn any¬ 
thing and the bright boy is disgusted. The 
pupils will tell about the habits, food, nesting 
places, eggs, call, etc., of the common birds. 
If you are studying a woodpecker, call at¬ 
tention to the peculiarities that distinguish it 
from other birds; consider its stout, sharp bill, 
its peculiar feet, its short, stiff tail feathers, 
its habits of drumming, and its undulating 
flight. Tell the story of how one species of 
woodpecker got its red head and black and 
white dress, and have the pupils learn a verse 
or two from the many that are to be found in 
the readers and in teachers’ journals. Before 
the interest lags close the period, always leav¬ 
ing something for the next lesson. At the next 
lesson, if during the right season, you will have 
several facts from pupils who have seen and 
observed a woodpecker during the interim. 
Never fail to treat of the good points of a 
bird and by a vote have it declared either a 
“good bird” worthy of protection or a “bad 
bird” deserving extermination. The teacher 
can mold the opinion of the school in accord¬ 
ance with established facts. 
In the grammar and high school grades a 
different plan works better. Here each pupil 
should have a note-book in which should be 
recorded his own observations. These should 
include the time of arrival, numbers, food, 
departure, acts of depredation, value to man, 
etc. Every note should be dated to be of value. 
In the course of a year the pupils will find sev¬ 
eral dead birds; these should be brought to 
school for specimens. Shooting birds for speci¬ 
mens should not be tolerated. Last year we 
had twenty-two birds brought to school for 
study. Among those brought alive were the 
barn owl, coot, horned grebe, meadowlark, bar¬ 
red owl, and flicker. Several different kinds of 
ducks were brought and a number of dead 
birds, among them a blackheaded grosbeak, 
golden-crowned warbler, Bohemian waxwing, 
downy woodpecker, and bittern. I mention 
these to show the actual possibilities in this 
line. 
At the end of the year we made a table like 
this: 
