When you begin to study the warblers, you will probably conclude that you know nothing about birds and can never learn. But if you begin by recognizing their common traits, and study a few of the easiest and those that nest in your locality, you will be less discouraged; and when the flocks come back at the next migrations, you will be able to master the oddities of a large number.
Most of them are very small—much less than half the size of a robin—and are not only short, but slender. Active as the chickadee or kinglet, they flit about the trees and undergrowth after insects, without charity for the observer who is trying to make out their markings. Unlike the waxwing, whose quiet ways are matched by its subdued tints, the warblers are dashed with all the glories of the rainbow, a flock of them looking as if a painter's palette had been thrown at them.
Why they should be called warblers is a puzzle, as a large percentage of them have not as much song as a chippy, nothing but a thin chatter, or a shrill piping trill. If you wish a negative conception of them, think of the coloring and habits of the cuckoo. No contrast could be more complete. The best places to look for them during migration are in young trees, orchards, and sunny slopes. I find them in old orchards, swamps, the raspberry patch, and the edge of the woods.—Florence A. Merriam: Birds through an Opera Glass.
Study this description, and you will discover the plan on which it is built. First comes the introduction, giving general directions for recognizing the subject. Then the most noticeable characteristics are stated, the size and shape. Habits of great activity are next mentioned, and a general notion of coloring is given. The song of the warblers is then taken up, and the description is summed up in a sentence by contrasting them with the cuckoo. The statement of where they are found could well have been placed at the beginning, directly after the introduction.
Exercise 103.—Using this as a model, describe any variety of bird or animal with which you are familiar, such as English sparrows, hens, parrots, ducks, dogs, cats, horses, goats, rabbits, squirrels, pigeons, geese, sheep.
Exercise 104.—Describe tomatoes, peaches, apricots, grapes, potatoes, carrots, watermelons, rice, blackberries, huckleberries, corn, wheat, oats, rye. Use the following as a model:—
The apple is one of the most widely cultivated, and best known and appreciated of fruits belonging to temperate climates. In its wild state it is known as the crabapple, and is found generally distributed through Europe and Western Asia. The apple tree, as cultivated, is a moderate-sized tree with spreading branches, ovate, acutely serrated or crenated leaves, and flowers in corymbs. It is successfully cultivated in higher latitudes than any other fruit tree, growing up to 65° N.; but, notwithstanding this, its blossoms are more susceptible of injury from frost than the flowers of the peach or apricot. It comes into flower much later than these trees, and so avoids the night frost, which would be fatal to its fruit bearing. The apples which are grown in northern regions are, however, small, hard, and crabbed, the best fruit being produced in hot summer climates, such as Canada and the United States."—Encyclopædia Britannica.
Try sometimes to make these descriptions so complete that your classmates can recognize what you are describing without knowing your subject beforehand. An almost infinite list of subjects suitable for scientific description could be given, but enough titles have been suggested to show you that you have only to look about you to find themes for the exercise.
63. Specific Scientific Description.—Compare with the treatment of the warblers in general this description of one particular variety of that species, by the same author, a little later in the same book.
The Blackburnian is one of the handsomest and most easily recognized of the warblers. His throat is a rich orange or flame color, so brilliant that it is enough in itself to distinguish him from any of the others. His back is black with yellow markings. His crown is black, but has an orange spot in the center, and the rest of his head, except near his eye, is the same flaming orange as his throat. His wings have white patches, and his breast is whitish tinged with yellow. His sides are streaked with black. The female and young are duller, the black of their backs being mingled with olive; while their throats are yellow instead of orange.
In this case, the author, having stated the general characteristics and habits of the family of warblers, needs only to describe minutely the appearance of one variety.
Exercise 105.—Take up in this way a special variety of the general topics you described in the last exercise: Buff Cochin hens; parrots from Central America; Royal Pekin ducks; Newfoundland or St. Bernard dogs, terriers, bull dogs, or greyhounds; Shetland ponies, race horses, or heavy draught horses; white rabbits or Belgian hares; gray squirrels, chipmunks, red squirrels or flying squirrels; pouter pigeons or homing pigeons.
64. Technical Terms.—In describing some objects you will find that careful and accurate observation and logical arrangement of your information are not enough. You will discover that you do not know the names for all the various parts of your subject. In attempting to write a complete description of even as well known an object as a flower or fruit, you will probably need to consult a dictionary or a scientific work, to learn the botanical names. Minute scientific description is, therefore, an excellent exercise for enlarging your vocabulary, for giving you control over more words. In using very technical terms, which may be as unfamiliar to your reader as they were to you before you made a study of your subject, add a brief explanation of the meaning.