The educational value of bird-study 243 
mal life walk thru Central Park, New York City, some Sun- 
day afternoon and see where, amid all its many attractions, 
people do most congregate. Is it in the quiet nooks of 
rocky cliffs or rustic retreats by the lakeside, on shady lawns 
that invite’ repose, near the ponds where the lily and lotus 
grow, or at the beds of rarely beautiful flowers? No, in none 
of these places shall we find more than scattered companies, 
but go where the animals are kept and you will find such a 
throng of visitors that not a cage in the whole collection is 
without its crowd of eager spectators. It is not alone the 
number of persons we shall find there, but their enjoyment of 
what they see that is impressive. Men, women, and children, 
of all ages and conditions have there a common interest; the 
fascination of the place is convincingly apparent. 
Now without pausing here to determine which animal or 
group of animals holds the best attended reception, birds 
alone of all the higher animals are the only ones surrounding 
us in sufficient numbers to be readily observable. But birds’ 
claims to our attention do not rest on so slight a basis as a 
mere question of numerical abundance. No other forms of 
life possess for us so many and such varied interests. In 
their courtship, nesting, habits, home-life, and intelligent 
adaptation to changing new conditions, they display traits of 
character that lead us to establish personal relationships with 
them. Their songs are the most eloquent of nature’s voices. 
Their periodic comings and goings appeal to our imagina- 
tion, and we marvel at the instinct which guides them over 
journeys thousands of miles in length. And it is this habi 
of migration which gives to bird-study a unique character. 
The student of botany or entomology must travel if he would 
see in their native haunts the flowers or insects of other 
climes. But the bird-student may stay at home and receive 
visits from inhabitants of the tropics and of the Arctic 
regions. There is not a month in the year when changes are 
not occurring in the feathered population of his vicinity. 
The potentialities of bird-study are, in fact, limitless, but 
how shall we make them available to our pupils? Do we 
observe in children an inborn interest in birds? Is there any 
