FIELD KEY TO THE LAND BIRDS.
KEY. Birds the size of a crow or larger, Birds about the size of a robin, size of
sparrow a. Bright colored h.
and
II.
a house
.
Without speckles
c. Brown with speckles Birds smaller than a house spar-
row
I.
Plates III. and IV.
jay, etc
Birds about the
Plates
......
Plate V. Plate VI. Plate VII. Plates VIII. and IX.
EXAMPLE OF THE MANNER OF USING THIS BOOK. Suppose you meet with an owl in the woods. It is larger than a crow, and must therefore be on Plate I. or II. On Plate I. there is no bird like it, on Plate II. there are three owls resembling it. The first, No. 21, the great horned owl, is so much larger than this bird, compared with the crow on the same plate, that it cannot be the one you want. Nos. 22 and 23 are alike in size and color. One has larger ears than the other, but you may not be able to see these in your owl on the tree. The long-eared owl, No. 22, has the feathers of the belly barred, that is, the spots run in bars crosswise of the feathers while the short-eared owl, No. 23, has the breast and belly streaked, that is, the spots run lengthwise of the feathers. Which is like your owl ?
