Evening star., 1924-04-11
HOW TO STUDY
THE BIRDS
BY J. C. RANSOM.

VI thO year III WHICH 10 STUDY lkS
birds. The feathered tribe is then at
its best, coming up from warmer
climes. clad in sleek spring feathers
and fresh costumes Of bright colors.
They are then full of song, restless
and eager to be away to field, forest
and mountain to begin the all-im-
portant work of nest-building and
raising the summer brood. In Wash
ington. the largest aggregation OF
birds TO be seen during. the year
comes in April or May, with the pos
sible exception of a short period dur
ing the fall migration. The process
sion of the songsters begins early
with the coming of the purple grackle
and his cousins of the black bird fam
lily and ending with the great focks
Of the chimney swift returning to US
from far-ofr Argentine. We have in
the District of Columbia in these
early spring months the few birds
which have wintered here and in
nearby states, those which return
and the migratory flock which tarry
a few days and press on to the north
and their home retreats. Then, If
one is real student Of the birds,
he will seek a high hill or the roof
of an apartment house at night, and
in the silence listen to the calls of
the birds passing overhead and never
stopping in this latitude. Who has
not heard the "Honk! honk" of the
wild goose, the whistle OF the kill
dear and the squeak Of the night
-. A.
listener On the roof Will hear many
more bird calls, and, if the moon is
bright, he may see the birds flying
northward in the rim of light, be-
tween him and the orb of night" i"
and he may recognize the flyer as he
flashes across the screen.
During the winter just passed sew
eral pairs of ortolanS, a few cardinals,
n half dozen robins have been fire.
Guently seen about the yards and in
the trees in Georgetown These are
the regular winter residents of the
one may see several OF the creepers,
he may hear a blue jay and start up
one or more pairs of n1ocking birds
on warm days in winter. These re-
main in secluded thickets, among the
evergreens, sheltered from the winds,
and stir out only in search of food.
With the first warm days in March
or April come the purple grackle or
"crow black BIRDS" which are very
plentiful in Washington through the
summer, walking sedately on the
lawns in the parks and enlivening the
bare tree tops with their spring song
of Peter -bo-vee." With them come
the robin, the ortoian, the mocking
bird, the crow and the advance col
unn Of the creepers and the shy wood
birds. It is probable that all these
early birds have wintered but a little
way south and move northwaru by
easy stages as soon as the sun be-
gins to warm the air. This advance
guard is quickly followed by the blue
bird, the thrush. the red wing. the
n N ead,ow lark ar, and the ficker BY the the
corners is in full tide. and from then
on come to US the warblers, the
vireos, the swallows. the wrens and
as the leaves begin. to sprout in the
woods the air is resonant with the
summer songsters.
+*ik *
Any person, If he will. may become
an entranced student Of the birds
and about all he has to do Is to begir
with the knowledge ne has and carry
on to an widening field of de-
Gghtful research iHts' the mysteries
Of the bird kingdom. Equipment for
this study is not very. costly and tbs
study of the birds. may be carried
on without loss Of. time that should
be devoted to other pursuits. Bird
study may be made the recre alton OF
ones life, and it is cheaper than golf
and just about as Enchanting as jazz
bridge or mah-jong. -
There are two distinct ways &c
= = -,
enlist who seeks to establish tbs
species and classification of the birc
and study its relation to other living
fauna and assign II place in thC
great scheme of evolution The thrill
of the ornothologist's life comes wher
he finds a new species. or unrecoTded
genus of an old family. The other
way is that of the amateur, who does
not rightly know the difference be
tween bob-o-link and a humming
bird or between robin and a blue
jay-that is, the scientific difference,
He learns much about the habits OF
the birds and little about their
anatomical structure, and their origin
in the misty age OF the reptiles. The
laxman n eed not bother much about
the order. species or genera OF the
birds. What thrills him is TO watch
their young and teaching the infant
brood to fly and forage. With glass
TO hiSzEeyes, with camera set som e.
where to take views of the birds, the
amateur slowly gathers his store OF
knowledge of the birds. In time it
will become more or less scientific,
but no one need TO he deferred from
summers enjoyment in orchard,
field and woodland, because he has
not yet learned about the scientific
status Of the robin and the mock
ing bird. To the amateur may be re-
vealed in one summer the whole
story of the romance of mating, the
energy of home building, the joy of
the newly Matched family, after
weary days of sitting upon the eggs,
the anxious days of the old birds
when they lead the nestlings forth
from the nest into the great world
of nature, and finally their sad de-
parture late in summer for the south.
Into this story OF the dom estic life
of the living birds may come tragedy,
for the birds have many enemies, in
Guiding thoughtless boys and cruel
men with their deadly guns.
Assuming now, that layman is
about to enter into the study of birds,
what is needful in the way of equip
ment to make the study easy and
profitable? The wouldbe student, OF
course, knows the names of some of
our native birds. Beginning with
this, he will seek to learn the names
of others, to observe them, learn
their ways and continually add to his
stock of bird lore. He needs first a
good bird manual, in which the clas-
sification of the birds is set down
with some technical knowledge of
each family and species, The best
book for the amateur is one with
many pictures that can be recognized
when compSred with living birds.
1.-THE Bird Book" by Chester Reed, is
such a book, and for land birds is
one of the best available. The same
author has other manuals on water
birds, game birds, etc.
x * x
The next requirement is y good
opera or field glass, with which to
Goa 9ha hirniS in the tree tons or In