If he is getting food, as he most often is, see whether he picks it from the tree trunk or gathers it from grass tops; whether he hunts it among leaves, bores the bark, drops to the ground, or sails out into the air for it.
Then try to discover what it is—insect or seed, beetle, grub, or worm—and what he does with it,—swallow it at once, beat it to death, or hold it in his mouth uneaten.
Then notice his manners,—if he stands still, or jerks his tail or body; if he flits about the branches, hovers before a flower, or hammers at the door of an unlucky grub behind the bark. Next, does he walk or hop? does he chatter or keep silent? fly straight, or go bounding in great waves through the air? All these things you must learn to see, and to note down the moment you do so, so that you will not be uncertain or confused when you take your books to see who he is.
Then you must take note of his size, and to do this—as it is hard to judge of inches—it is well to have in mind a sort of index of size to which you can compare him. Take the most common and best-known birds for standards, the robin, the English sparrow, and one smaller,—the wren, or the "chebec" (least flycatcher). When you see a bird, if he is as big as a robin, enter in your note: "Size, robin." Should he be a little smaller, yet still larger than your measure,—the English sparrow,—you can note it, "Size, robin -," the minus sign meaning that it is less. If he were larger, you would put the plus sign: "Size, robin +."
Observe the shape, whether it is slim like an oriole, or chunky like a chickadee; also any peculiarity of plumage, as a crest, specially long or strangely formed tail feathers; the end of the tail, whether square, rounded, pointed, or notched.
Then notice the beak; its length compared to the head, its shape and color. If it is high and thick, like a canary's or sparrow's, the bird is a seed-eater; if long and straight, like a robin's, he is an insect-eater; if sharp and flat, opening very wide like a swallow's, he is a flycatcher.
Lastly, note the plumage, the general color, then special markings, such as bars on wings or tail, a ring around the eye ([Fig 18]), or a line over or through the eye ([Fig 19]), white or black throat ([Fig 20] or 19), speckled or striped breast ([Fig 18]), or any conspicuous blotch. Every point must be set down the moment you notice it. You cannot trust your memory.
