or instance,
than for a young person--or an older person, either, for that
matter--to spend his leisure in trying to identify every bird in his
neighborhood? As a result of such an attempt he would doubtless become
so interested in the study of his bird neighbors that he would resolve
to learn all he could about their charming habits.

How may one study the birds intelligently? That is a question every
beginner will want to have answered. When I began my bird studies I
spent much valuable time in simply trying to learn the _modus
operandi_, and while I do not consider the time thus spent entirely
wasted, still I am anxious to save my readers as much needless effort
as possible. This I shall do by showing them how they may begin at
once to form an acquaintance with the various families and species of
birds.

It goes without saying that, to become a successful nature student, one
must have good eyes, strong limbs, nimble feet, and, above all, an
alert mind. People who lack these qualities, especially the last, will
not be likely to pursue the noble science of ornithology. The stupid
sort will prefer to drowse in the shade, and the light-minded will care
only for the gay round of social pleasures. Any bright and earnest
person, however, can in good time become an expert student of the
feathered creation, provided only that he feels a genuine interest in
such pursuit. No one, let it be repeated, can study nature
successfully in a dull, perfunctory spirit. Here, as in religion, one
must have the baptism of fire, the temper of devotion.

In the study of birds it must be admitted that men and boys have some
advantage over their cousins of the gentler sex. Men folk may ramble
pretty much where they please without danger, whereas the freedom of
women folk in this respect is somewhat restricted. However, the
engaging works of Mrs. Olive Thorne Miller, of Mrs. Florence M. Bailey,
and of many others prove that women are not debarred from outdoor
studies, and that in some ways they may even have an advantage over
men; they are not so ambitious to cover a wide territory, to penetrate
to out-of-the-way haunts, or to roll up a long "list," and they are
therefore apt to make more intimate studies of the common species, thus
getting into the very heart of the bird's life. A man's observations
may embrace a wider range, and he may add more species to the science
of ornithology than his sister, but she will be likely to disc