Birds, Vol. III, No 3, March 1898

<h2><SPAN name="HINTS_ON_THE_STUDY_OF_WINTER_BIRDS" id="HINTS_ON_THE_STUDY_OF_WINTER_BIRDS"></SPAN> HINTS ON THE STUDY OF WINTER BIRDS.</h2> <div> <ANTIMG class="drop-cap" src="images/initial_i.jpg" width-obs="59" height-obs="125" alt="" /></div> <p class="drop-cap">IN attractiveness to children, says James E. McDade, for the Committee of Sixty of Chicago, no department of natural history surpasses Ornithology. Birds are to be found everywhere. In the city parks and suburban groves careful observation will reveal objects of study, even in the depths of winter. The following suggestions are based on practical work which has been done in the G. W. Curtis school during the past two years.</p> <p>No satisfactory work can be done until the children have been aroused to sufficient interest to observe birds for themselves. Pictures and descriptions, however valuable as auxiliaries, can never take the place of personal observation. The best method of arousing this interest is to go out with the children and study the birds. Opera glasses or field glasses will greatly facilitate observation.</p> <p>As a guide in description pupils may have in mind the following points: shape and size of bird; prevailing color; marks on head, wings, throat, or tail; shape of bill; length of tail; where found (whether on the ground, in trees, or climbing tree trunks). These and other details should be emphasized.</p> <p>In all this work strict accuracy must be insisted on. In the beginning, pupils are apt to give inaccurate, and, in some instances, highly imaginary descriptions of birds. A good plan is to encourage them to bring in written descriptions of birds they have seen.</p> <p>Such field work may well furnish excellent subject matter for water color work, as well as a basis for written compositions. Good collections of our native birds may be found in the Field Columbian Museum and in the museum of the Chicago Academy of Sciences, and the curators of these institutions will be found ready to give teachers any aid in their power.</p> <p>Mr. McDade mentions the following as the most common winter birds of this vicinity, not including swimmers and waders: the English Sparrow, the Snow Bird, the Bluejay, the Thistle-bird, the Black-capped Chickadee, the White-bellied Nuthatch, the Northern Shrike or Butcherbird, the Horned Lark, and the Crow.</p> <p>In many parts of the country there are good collections of birds which are accessible, and which may, by a little inquiry, be found by those interested. We do not hesitate to say, however, that the specimens of birds shown monthly in this magazine have stimulated the successful study of Ornithology to a degree never imagined as possible. The pictures are so true to nature in color and attitude that they are instantly fixed in the mind. We know several instances where children of eight and ten years have become by its use so familiar with many birds that they can draw and paint them from memory with considerable fidelity. <span class="sc">Birds</span> is indeed the best means of acquiring speedy as well as accurate knowledge of Ornithology desired by those who do not expect to pursue the study in all its scientific ramifications. We refer with confidence to the recognized authorities on the subject.</p> <p class="ar"> <span class="sc">C. C. Marble.</span><br/></p> <hr class="small" /> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</SPAN></span></p> </div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />