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22
Bird-Lore

a swift perusal of the names already entered will call to mind the old friends that have been met. The result is a complete permanent record for the year. The blank portion (right-hand half) of each right-hand page is reserved for explanatory notes concerning any of the entries made. It is often desirable to set down the markings of a strange bird while you are in the field, in order that you may look up the name in the key on your return home. There are various blanks pub- lished for this purpose, but I know of none simpler than the one gotten out by one of my students, of which I append a diagram : FIELD DESCRIPTION. NO A. C. HALL, WEST HARTFORD, CONN. Comparative size, Chippy, Song Sparrow, Bluebird, Robin, Crow, or larger Probable family Bill Forehead Crown Center stripe Back Rump Wing Barred Coverts Tail Barred Outer feather Eye Line over Under Line through ..Auriculars Throat Breast Sides Belly Under tail-coverts Flight Notes Date Locality Name I have gone into a rather elaborate explanation of this method in order that I may make myself fully understood. I am afraid that by so doing I have made the matter seem too difficult. My intention has been to show how easy it is to keep a list of the birds of every day, and I therefore have given a diagram of a part of a page from my note-book for January. It takes but a few minutes in a day, and what are the results? At the end of the year you have an acquaintance with several score of birds and their notes ; you have a record of when they appeared, when they were most numerous and when they were last seen. A small letter "s" inserted in each entry will show when they were in song. You have incidentally a record of your where- abouts every day in the year, separate bird-records for special locali- ties, and a complete weather-record. And when, with the returning spring, old friends come back again, it is pleasant to know where and when you first saw them in previous years.