Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-07-21
How 10 See the Birds.

The prime necessity is a note book
Begin with the first bird you see. Per
haps it VIII be the robin. Don't dis
dain him because he is one of the very
few birds that you do know. Watch
him as he hops about the yard. Note
how he really looks TO you. Estimate
his length, the general color OF the up
per parts. of the breast and under
parts In your note book put down
what You actually see yourself not
what your reading Of bird books mak,e
you think you ought to see. Describe
the colors by terms that recall tn.
exact shade to you. Don't call thu
back brown and the breast red, ii
dusky and mahogany seem truer terms.
The general coiorings may be all you
xiii see the first time you look The
second time. perhaps you will notice
that the head and the back of the neci.
are considerably darker than the rest
If the back. You may have a suspicion,
when ne flies. that there was littl,.
white about the tail
Make u note OF il, with question
mark, If necessary. The next time you
viii see that the tips of the outer tall
feathers are white. Every time you
lock al the robin, for a while. you VIII
discover something new to note You
VIII observe the color of the bill ana
legs, the shape of the tail Some day
YOU viii see the fine white line over thu
eye. Besides the description of his
appearance, note the time and place OF
your seeing him, also what he was
doing. You may be fortunate enough
IN, l.a ,. -.
and the growth of the little ones.
Make careful notes as everything you
see. Every observation helps toward
quicker seeing next time.
Now take anottaer bird Perhaps L
will be the fami{Srs chippy Did you
ever notice before SsEaf the top of his
head is cinnamon broAnsthat there ar
straight black lines back from HI, Cor
hers of his eyes, as If he hai spectacIos
On. that his breast is "A smooth ashy
gray. that he is considerably smaller
than his despised cousin, the English
sparrow?
Now may come a bird that you do
rot know by name. Perhaps it is
lltue grayish bird that is porched quite
a;iii on the end of n dry twig Once
You could not have told him from a
chippy: but You have noticed that the
chippy has a cinnamon cclored crown.
that his bill is short, that YOU have
usually seen him hopping about in the
grass. This little visitor has an olive
gray head, a rather long. sharp bill he
sits very erect, and you almost think
mat he occasionally raises a slight
crest. Suddenly he darts off into III.
ar To eaten passing insect, and is
back again before you can think. The
name fiycatcher passes through Your
NINA. You turn to your handbook and
READ what Is said of the flycatcher
iafhiiy. You compare your notes with
Inc descriptions of the different mem |
hers of the family, and presently Won
read that of the least nycatcher. The
description as almost identical with
your OWN You krow another bird
seine day you will see. balanced on a |
eali grass or on topmost tree branch |
perhaps, a bird nearly as large as :,
ropih. You will only see that he Is |
dark above and almost white below
ana that the tail-feathers are tipped |
" ion WHITE You wouldn't know where |
10 iook Tor him in your handbook. but
you recall something familiar in hi, /
form and in his Greet attitude. Wher,. |
nave YOU seen an outline like that.
An. the least tiycatcheriN You turn In |
the fycatcher family again, and if is |
Easy to find that this is the king hir,, !
You viii he interested To lpn,,, 49,,
pifd IS added to your list but !
sou VIII care more to realize that you
are beginning to see.