How to Study Birds
BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN
FIRST PAPER
INTRODUCTORY
TRING the past three years BIRD-LORE has published a series of D articles designed to be of permanent value to teachers and students
of birds,— articles which should not be merely of passing interest but which should be of real assistance to our readers; articles to refer to as one would to a textbook. In 1900. it may be remembered, we presented a number of suggestive papers on methods in teaching ornithology, wherein such wellvknown teachers as Olive Thorne NIiller, Florence Merriam Bailey, Lynds Jones and others explained their methods in the field, class— room or lecture~ha|l. In 1901 we published a series of articles on lBirds and Seasons,‘ in which the birdelife of the vicinity of Boston, New York city, Philadelphia, Oberlin, Ohio; Chicago, and Stockton. Cal., was dis» cussed month by month, and seasonal lists of birds. suggestions for the sea— son's study and Season's reading were given During the past year these contributions have been followed by seven articles on the families of perch» ing birds, treating the preliminary steps in a systematic study of birds Thus. it will be seen that in natural sequence we have considered (r) how to teach birds, (2) when to find birds, and (3) how to name birds. It is now proposed to follow these subjects by a number of articles on ‘ How to Study Birds.‘ We have seen that identification, the naming of the bird, is, as might be expected, the first object of the student: and to this end we have told him when he may expect to find certain) birds and how to make their acquaintance, But naming birds is only the first step in their study. Having learned to recognize a species, we should next begin to inquire into its habits, its life-historyt A study of bird migration is usually the first subject in field ornithologywhich interests the student, once he has acquired some familiarity with the birds themselves Migration, from the practical standpoint of dates, however, has been dealt with in our articles on ‘Birds and Seasons,’ and the thereto "appended suggestions for the season‘s study contained numbers of hints to the student of this remarkable phenomenon. Next to the fascination of observing and recording the comings and goings of birds. the field student is probably most attracted by their habits while nesting, and it is this interesting phase of bird-life which we propose to study with BIRD-LORE‘S readers during the coming year. Mating, the selection of a nesting»site, nest»building, egg-laying, incuba- tion. the care and habits of the young—all these developments of the - nesting season will receive our attention, with the especial object of telling the student what to look for and how to look at it. Hundreds of opportu-
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