and it is great sport for them
to follow some shy songster through the briery thicket until a really
good look can be had, to sit stock still for half an hour to watch
some unknown bird come home to her nest, or to wriggle on all fours
through the grass to have a glimpse over the top of the knoll at the
ducks in the pool beyond.

The only equipment necessary for bird study is an opera or field
glass, a note-book and a good bird reference book. As soon as you get
a good look at a strange bird, notice its colors and markings, and
then, if it moves, follow it up until you have seen practically all of
its most prominent features. It will be impossible to carry these
facts in your head, and unless some definite memorandum is made at the
time you will probably {86} be hopelessly perplexed when you go to consult
the bird book later. As it is hard to jot down satisfactory notes in
the field, while catching fleeting glances of some timid bird, a handy
little booklet has been prepared in which observations can be recorded
very rapidly. These can be procured for fifteen cents apiece from the
National Association of Audubon Societies, 1974 Broadway, New York
City.

Location _______________________ _______________________
Date _______________________Hour _______________________
Weather ___________________Wind _______________________

[Illustration: A bird. (tr)]

SIZE:
Smaller than wren
Between wren and sparrow
Between sparrow and robin
Between robin and crow
Larger than crow
SEEN
Near ground or high up
In heavy woods
Bushy places
Orchard
Garden
Swamp
Open country
Near water

Name ______________________
Order ______________________ Family _______________________
Genus_______________________ Species ______________________

{87}

Each booklet contains outline figures of the five leading types of
birds: (1) small perching birds, (2) hawks, (3) snipes, (4) herons,
(5) ducks. On the page opposite is a list of numbers corresponding to
colors. You can quickly mark on the outline the proper numbers, and
note with your pencil any marks on the bird. Then check the other data
on the page, add any additional memoranda, and you have your "bird in
the hand," ready to take back and look up at your leisure.

Careful Observation

Notice particularly the "range" of the birds in your reference book,
and eliminate all those not stated as occurring in your territory.
Notice too, dates of the birds' coming and goi