SCOUTING FOR GIRLS 
39 
How many of our American Scouts are able to supply 
from their observation all of our native birds to take 
the places of these mentioned in this lovely paragraph? 
Everyone should be able to. 
Nature in the City . — This noticing of small things, especially 
in animal life, not only gives you great interest, but it also gives 
you great fun and enjoyment in life. Even if you live in a city 
you can do a certain amount of observation of birds and animals. 
You would think there is not much fun to be got out of it in a 
murky town like London or Sheffield, and yet if you begin to 
notice and know all about the sparrows you begin to find there 
is a great deal of character and amusement to be got out of them, 
by watching their ways and habits, their nesting, and their way 
of teaching their young ones to fly. 
•OBSERVATION. 
<e Stalking . — A Guide has toxbe sharp at seeing things if she is 
going to be any good as a Guide. She has to notice every little 
track and every little sign, and it is this studying of tracks and 
following them out and finding out their meaning which we in- 
clude under the name of stalking. For instance, if you want to 
find a bird’s-nest you have to stalk. That is to say, you watch 
a bird flying into a bush and guess where its nest is, and follow 
it up and find the nest. With some birds it is a most difficult 
thing to find their nests ; take, for instance, the skylark or the 
snipe. But those who know the birds, especially the snipe, will 
recognize their call. The snipe when she is alarmed gives quite 
a different call from when she is happy and flying about. She 
has a particular call when she has young ones about. So that 
those who have watched and listened and know her call when 
they hear it know pretty well where the young ones are or where 
the nest is and so on. 
“ How to Hide Yourself . — When you want to observe wild ani- 
mals you have to stalk them, that is, creep up to them without 
their seeing or smelling you. 
“A hunter when he is stalking wild animals keeps himself en- 
tirely hidden, so does the war scout when watching or looking 
for the enemy; a policeman does not catch pickpockets by stand- 
ing about in uniform watching for them; he dresses like one of 
the crowd, and as often as not gazes into a shop window and sees 
all that goes on behind him reflected as if in a looking-glass. 
“If a guilty person finds himself being v/atched, it puts him on 
his guard, while an innocent person becomes annoyed. So, when 
you are observing people, don’t do so by openly staring at them, 
but notice the details you want to at one glance or two, and if 
