The Bird Study Book
E-text prepared by Al Haines
Transcriber's note: The page numbers in the left margin are those in the original book. However, in this e-book, to avoid the splitting of paragraphs, the illustrations may have been moved to the page preceding or following.
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.
T. Gilbert Pearson
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The Bird Study Book
T. Gilbert Pearson
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE BIRD STUDY BOOK
The Fox that Followed the Footsteps
Heads and feet of various birds
Sample page of reporting-blank
A ferocious young eagle
The Umbrella Blind
Nest of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The Bald Eagle's Eyrie
Gannets nesting on the cliffs. Bonaventure Island, Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The Grebe or "Water Witch"
A male plumbous gnatcatcher feeding young
A mountain Bluebird family. Its home having been destroyed it is now enjoying temporary quarters furnished by a kindly hand.
Canada Geese Decoys
The Greedy Young Cowbird
Young robins quarreling at their bath. Photographed in the yard of Mrs. Granville Pike, North Yakima, Washington
Migration Routes of Some North American Birds
Lighthouses Cause the Death of Many Birds
Tired Migrating Birds Often Alight on Ships
Feeding station for birds on the grounds of R. G. Decker, Rhinebeck, New York. The glass sides prevent the seeds from being blown off the tray a foot or more below the roof.
Grouse "Budding" in an Apple Tree
A Snowy Egret that came home to die. It was shot on its feeding-grounds, and then flew several miles and died on its nest in the Audubon Society's Reservation at Orange Lake, Florida.
Cuckoo, Raiding a Tent of Caterpillars
Farallon Cormorants and White Pelicans on a Government Bird Reservation in southern Oregon.
Screech Owl and Its Prey
Passenger Pigeons Are Now Extinct
Window "Caféteria," at home of Mrs. Granville Pike, North Yakima, Washington. The birds here seen at their lunch are the Goldfinch, Housefinch, and Oregon Junco.
The Great Auk, Another Extinct Bird
Terns, Formerly Sought by the Feather Trade
A Christmas dinner for the birds. Note the Song Sparrow on a Sunflower head and a Chickadee weighing himself. Photographed by Mrs. Granville Pike
Crowned Pigeon That Furnishes the Goura of the Feather Trade
An Egret, bearing "aigrettes," in attendance on her young
Migrative Birds Are Protected by the Government
Egret brooding on a Florida island owned and guarded by the Audubon Society.
The Downy Woodpecker is fond of suet
LIST OF NATIONAL BIRD RESERVATIONS
The Grotesque Wood Ibis
Members of a junior Audubon class at Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Hungry Young Egrets
Cemented Holes Shut Out the Chickadee
Gourds and Boxes for Martins
A California hospital for injured birds, erected and maintained by Mrs. Harriet W. Myers of Los Angeles
A Bird Bath
Preparing for the coming of the birds. A Junior Audubon class on Prince Edward Island
Colouring of Birds upon Outline Drawings