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    Bird Study Book
    Bird Study Book
    Bird Study Book
    Ebook192 pages1 hour

    Bird Study Book

    By T. Gilbert Pearson

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    About this ebook

    Guide book first published around 1900.Illustrated with 43 drawings and photographs.According to Wikipedia: "Thomas Gilbert Pearson (1873–1943), usually known as T. Gilbert Pearson, was an American conservationist and one of the first faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was a founder of the National Association of Audubon Societies, which became the National Audubon Society."

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSeltzer Books
    Release dateMar 1, 2018
    ISBN9781455429516
    Bird Study Book

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      Book preview

      Bird Study Book - T. Gilbert Pearson

      THE BIRD STUDY BOOK BY T. GILBERT PEARSON

      Secretary, National Association of Audubon Societies

      Published by Seltzer Books

      established in 1974, now offering over 14,000 books

      feedback welcome: [email protected]  

      Illustrated nature books available from Seltzer Books:

      Audubon and His Journals

      Birds Every Child Should Know by Blanchan

      Bird Neighbors by Blanchan

      Wild Flowers Worth Knowing by Blanchan

      The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin

      Ducks at a Distance by Hines

      Bird Houses Boys Can Build by Siepert

      The Bird Study Book by Pearson

      What Bird Is That? by Chapman

      Coloured Frontispiece

      Pen and ink drawings by Will Simmons

      And sixteen photographs

      Garden City, New York, Doubleday, Page & Company, 1917

      Copyright, 1917, by DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY

      All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian

      TO MY WIFE, ELSIE WEATHERLY PEARSON

      PREFACE

      CHAPTER I FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE BIRDS

      CHAPTER II  THE LIFE ABOUT THE NEST

      CHAPTER III DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE BIRDS

      CHAPTER IV THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS

      CHAPTER V THE BIRDS IN WINTER

      CHAPTER VI THE ECONOMIC VALUE OF BIRDS

      CHAPTER VII CIVILIZATION'S EFFECT ON THE BIRD SUPPLY

      CHAPTER VIII THE TRAFFIC IN FEATHERS

      CHAPTER IX  BIRD-PROTECTIVE LAWS AND THEIR ENFORCEMENT— HOW LAWS ARE MADE

      CHAPTER X BIRD RESERVATIONS

      LIST OF NATIONAL BIRD RESERVATIONS

      CHAPTER XI MAKING BIRD SANCTUARIES

      CHAPTER XII TEACHING BIRD STUDY

      PREFACE

      This book has been written for the consideration of that ever-increasing class of Americans who are interested in acquiring a greater familiarity with the habits and activities of wild birds. There are many valuable publications treating more or less exhaustively of the classification of birds, as well as of form, colour, distribution, migration, songs, and foods. Here an attempt is made to place before the reader a brief consideration of these and many similar topics, and suggest lines of action and thought that may perhaps stimulate a fuller study of the subject. Attention is also given to the relation of birds to mankind and the effect of civilisation on the bird-life of the country. The book is not intended so much for the advanced student in ornithology, as for the beginner. Its purpose is to answer many of the questions that students in this charming field of outdoor study are constantly asking of those more advanced in bird-lore. In conformity with the custom employed during many years of college and summer-school teaching, the author has discussed numerous details of field observation, the importance of which is so often overlooked by writers on the subject.

      If one can, in the recounting of some experience that he has found interesting, awaken in the mind of a sympathetic hearer a desire to go forth and acquire a similar experience, then indeed may he regard himself as a worthy disciple of the immortal Pestalozzi. Let the teacher who would instruct pupils in bird-study first acquire, therefore, that love for the subject which is sure to come when one begins to learn the birds and observe their movements. This book, it is hoped, will aid such seekers after truth by the simple means of pointing out some of the interesting things that may be sought and readily found in the field and by the open road.

      In the preparation of this volume much valuable aid has been received from Messrs. E. W. Nelson, F. E. L. Beal, Wells W. Cooke, T. S. Palmer, H. C. Oberholser, and others of the United States Biological Survey, for which the author desires to make grateful acknowledgment.

      Parts of some of the chapters have previously appeared in the Craftsman Magazine and Country Life in America, and are here reproduced by the courtesy of the editors.

      T. GILBERT PEARSON.

      CHAPTER I FIRST ACQUAINTANCE WITH THE BIRDS

      It is in spring that wild birds make their strongest appeal to the human mind; in fact, the words birds and spring seem almost synonymous, so accustomed are we to associate one with the other. All the wild riotous singing, all the brave flashing of wings and tail, all the mad dashing in and out among the thickets or soaring upward above the tree-tops, are impelled by the perfectly natural instinct of mating and rearing young. And where, pray, dwells the soul so poor that it does not thrill in response to the appeals of the ardent lover, even if it be a bird, or feel sympathy upon beholding expressions of parental love and solicitude. Most people, therefore, are interested in such spring bird life as comes to their notice, the extent of this interest depending in part on their opportunity for observation, but more especially, perhaps, on their individual taste and liking for things out of doors.

      It would seem safe to assume that there is hardly any one who does not know by sight at least a few birds. Nearly every one in the eastern United States and Canada knows the Robin, Crow, and English Sparrow; in the South most people are acquainted with the Mockingbird and Turkey Buzzard; in California the House Finch is abundant about the towns and cities; and to the dwellers in the Prairie States the Meadowlark is very familiar.

      Taking such knowledge, however slight, as a basis, there is no reason why any one, if he so desires, should not, with a little effort, get on neighbourly terms with a large number of birds of the region, and spring is a most favourable time to begin such an effort. One may learn more about a bird's habits by closely observing its movements for a few hours at this season than by watching it for a month later on. The life that centres about the nest is most absorbing. Few sights are more stimulating to interest in outdoor life than spying on a pair of wild birds engaged in nest building. Nest hunting, therefore, soon becomes a part of the bird student's occupation, and I heartily recommend such a course to beginners, provided great care is exercised not to injure the nests and their contents.

      Caution in Nest Hunting.—A thoughtful person will, of course, be careful in approaching a wild bird's nest, otherwise much mischief may be done in a very short time. I have known dainty eggs and darling baby-birds to be literally visited to death by well-meaning people, with the best of intentions. The parents become discouraged by constantly recurring alarms and desert the nest, or a cat will follow the path made through the weeds and leave nothing in the nest worth observing. Even the bending of limbs, or the pushing aside of leaves, will produce a change in the surroundings, which, however slight, may be sufficient to draw the attention of some feathered enemy.

      When one stumbles on the nest of a Quail, Meadowlark, or Oven-bird, it is well not to approach it closely, because all over the country many night-prowling animals have the habit of following by scent the footsteps of any one who has lately gone along through the woods or across the fields. One afternoon by the rarest chance I found three Quails' nests containing eggs. The next morning I took out a friend to share the pleasure of my discoveries. We found every nest destroyed and the eggs eaten. My trail the evening before lay through cultivated fields, and it was thus easy for us to find in the soft ground the tracks of the fox or small dog that, during the night, had followed the trail with calamitous results to the birds. When finding the nests I had made the mistake of going to within a few inches of them. Had I stopped six feet away the despoiler that followed probably never would have known there was a nest near, for unless a dog approaches within a very few feet of a brooding Quail it seems not to possess the power of smelling it.

      The Fox that Followed the Footsteps

      Going Afield.—It is rarely necessary to go far afield to begin the study of birds. Often one may get good views of birds from one's open window, as many species build their nests close to the house when the surroundings are favourable. Last spring I counted eighteen kinds of birds one morning while sitting on the veranda of a friend's house, and later found the nests of no less than seven of them within sight of the house. When one starts out to hunt birds it is well to bear in mind a few simple rules. The first of these is to go quietly. One's good sense would of course tell him not to rush headlong through the woods, talking loudly to a companion, stepping upon brittle twigs, and crashing through the underbrush. Go quietly, stopping to listen every few steps. Make no violent motions, as such actions often frighten a bird more than a noise. Do not wear brightly coloured clothing, but garments of neutral tones which blend well with the surroundings of field and wood. It is a good idea to sit silently for a time on some log or stump, and soon the birds will come about you, for they seldom notice a person who is motionless. A great aid to field study is a good Field Glass. A glass enables one to see the colours of small birds hopping about the shrubbery, or moving through the branches of trees. With its aid one may learn much of their movements, and even observe the kind of food they consume. A very serviceable glass may be secured at a price varying from five to ten dollars. The National Association of Audubon Societies, New York City, sells a popular one for five dollars. If you choose a more expensive, high-powered binocular, it will be found of greater advantage when watching birds at a distance, as on a lake or at the seashore.

      Notebooks.—The bird student should early acquire the custom of making notes on such subjects as are of special interest. In listening to the song or call of some unknown bird, the notes can usually be written down in characters of human speech so that they may be recalled later with sufficient accuracy to identify the singer. It is well to keep a list of the species observed when on a trip. For many years in my field excursions I have kept careful lists of the birds seen and identified, and have found these notes to be of subsequent use and pleasure. In college and summer-school work I have always insisted on pupils cultivating the notebook habit, and results have well justified this course.

      In making notes on a bird that you do not know it is well to state the size by comparing it with some bird you know, as, for example, smaller than an English Sparrow, about the size of a Robin, and so on. Try to determine the true colours of the birds and record these. Also note the shape and approximate length of the bill. This, for example, may be short and conical like a Canary's, awl-shaped like the bill of a Warbler, or very long and slender like that of a Snipe. By failing to observe these simple rules the learner may be in despair when he tries to find out the name of his strange bird by examining a bird book, or may cause some kindly friend an equal amount of annoyance.

      Heads and feet of various birds

      As a further aid to subsequent identification it is well to record the place where the bird was seen, for example: hopping up the side of a tree, wading in a marsh, circling about in the air, or feeding on dandelions. Such secondary information, while often a valuable aid to identification, would in itself hardly be sufficient to enable an ornithologist to render the service desired.

      That a young correspondent of mine entertained a contrary view was evident from a letter I received a few weeks ago from an inexperienced boy enthusiast, who was a member of a newly formed nature-study class. Here is the exact wording of the communication: "Dear Sir: 10 A. M. Wind East. Cloudy. Small bird seen on ground in orchard. Please name. P. S. All the leaves have fallen."

      Reporting Blanks.—A convenient booklet of reporting blanks and directions for using them is issued by the National Association of Audubon Societies, New York City. This is very useful in recording descriptions of birds. (See sample, page 13.) The blanks may be sent to the office of the National Association and the species described

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