St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1892-04-21
HOW TO STUDY BIRDS.


Since my papers in the Christian
Union last Spring, on Birds in their
Homes" many letters have come to
me asking how to begin the work of
making acquaintance with our little
brothers in feathers | should like
to respond to every one, but not hav-
ing half dozen stenographers at my
command, | cannot answer them in
dividually, and am therefore forced
to address them through the same
friendly columns.
[ hope that all Of you, my cores
pondents, think of birds, not as prey
to be caught or killed, not as the pro-
wider of eggs to be added to ''collec-
tions" by robbery, perhaps murder,
but as living fellow-creatures whom
it would be pleasant to know.
If you saw boy in a tree, you
would be curious to know what he
was doing. Look at bird in the
same way, for he has his daily duties
you may be sure Like you, he has
to eat and drink and sleep; like your
parents, the bird father and bird
mother have to care for and protect,
to feed and to educate, their little
ones, and teach them to look out for
themselves; as to men and women,
so to birds, come sorrow and pain,
anXlet1eS and m1SfOrtunes, as well as
happiness; and the better you know
them, the more certain you will be
that thisis true.
What you want to learn, hope, is
to understand these lovely little
Of
where they make their home, and
what name they are known by.
Many persons think that in order
to know a bird, especially to find
out his name, one must have him in
the hand, count his wing and tail
feathers, and measure his length and
his breadth. Excepting for exact
scientific purposes-which is not your
object-this is not at all necessary.
Almost any bird in America may be
perfectly identified without touching
him-indeed, while he is in the enjoy
ment of life and liberty on a tree.
Surprising you do not know exact
ly how many tail-feathers he has, or
his exact length; in spite of that ig-
norance you can be perfectly sure
who he is to ordinary people, and by
what npronounceable name he is
known to science, for birds have
marked external differences which
are carefully set down in the books.
| All you need is habit of close obser-
walton, some way of noting down
his points while he is in sight, and a
| little practice in searching him out in
the Ornitholgies.
Of course some knowledge of the
science is a great help. For example,
if you know how they are divided in
to "orders," and what distinctions
separate the families" you will
know where to look for his descrip-
| ton and name.
Coues's 'Key to North American
Birds is the best work l know for
an unscientific student, for it it is
less technical than others in its de-
scriptions, and very fully illustrated
From this book you may easily learn
about the families" so that when
you see a bird scrambling about or
the trunk of a tree, for example, you
j. will know at once that he belongs to
the family of nuthatches, or creepers
and if you observe another clingins
to an upright trunk, and hammer
ing away for dear life, you will sci
him down instantly as a woodpeck
err; whereas, should you note one fly
ing out into the air, swapping thu
beak and returning to his perch, yor
would be sure he belonged to the fly
catchers.
do not say it is the best way tt
study birds to dispense with {
knowledge of the science, but 1 d.
: say that if it is the life and habits o
| the bird world that you wish to OBJ
serve, you may do it successfully
while using the books only for tn
purpose of Identification. A person
al knowledge of the birds of tn
: neighborhood is possible to ever,
one, and it is a most delightful AM
iascina ting study.
In the articles referred to, some di
rections were given about the prope
. outfit for bird study, the convenien
ces for taking notes, and the style O
dress best fitted to escape the obser
walton of our sharp-eyed httl
friends; but more important still i
the cultivation of habit OF observa
: ton. You must begin by trainin.