Ornithologist

“ The ornithologist should be the birds' best protector, even though he must at times shoot them for study, but what shall we say when he goes among them in nesting time, shooting indiscriminately and leaving the young to perish? Every naturalist owes it to science to protect the natural beauties with which the Creator has blessed the earth, and how can the collector, with never a twinge of conscience, quiet the sweet voices of the woodland in a fashion little less than barbarous, for pecuniary gain? ”

“ The eagle and kite are, to all purpose, extinct, in England, and the peregrine and honey-buzzard will soon share their fate. The sight of a large bird now calls out all the raffish guns of a country-side. Ornithologists have, however, themselves to thank. With some honourable exceptions, I know no one so greedy as a true ornithologist. The botanist does not uproot every new flower which he discovers, but—for he loves them too well—carefully spares some plants to grow and increase; whilst few ornithologists rest content till they see the specimen safe in their cabinets. ”

“ The person who has not trod the field from dawn till twilight, who knows nothing of the denizens of the woods and tree-tops, and who has never listened to the seabirds' cries above the boom of old ocean, cannot preach the doctrine of bird protection understandingly. Those who have delved into and grasped many of the delightful secrets which ornithology holds, and who are now urging a proper course in protective work, are worthy the thanks of every true ornithologist. ”

“ There is an old proverb that he who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client, and the young ornithologist might be advised, if he has the funds, to no more attempt to set up his birds in cases than to try to make his own gun. A few succeed, the many do not. The setting-up of birds is distinctly a profession, as the hideous work of the ordinary tradesman sufficiently testifies. To make one's own skins is, however, quite another matter; while a baronial hall and a respectable rent-roll are both necessary if even the British ornithologist is to possess a cased collection. ”

“ The two, indeed, are so much alike that only an ornithologist—as ornithologists tell us—is capable of distinguishing them whilst the birds are alive and at liberty. However, as the sole mark of distinction appears to consist in a hardly appreciable difference in the length of the tarsus, it is easier to understand the difficulty than how the ornithological eye, even, unsupported by a measuring-tape, manages to surmount it. ”

“ A dictionary of birds is a fair trial of strength for any ornithologist. It indispensably requires three possessions: scientific capacity, knowledge of the literature, and the critical faculty; and if the great lexicographer shared the illusion that a language might be "fixed" by making a catalogue of its words, the present dictionary has very largely focussed ornithology to date. But, apart from special ornithology, Professor Newton, his assistant, and three contributors, have probably produced one of the best books on natural history that has appeared in the English language. ”

“ Great as was his botanical information, he excelled in a still higher degree as an entomologist and ornithologist; he was acquainted with the shape and habits of every bird and every butterfly, every branch of his knowledge helping him to enlarged success in the prosecution of the others, botany aiding entomology, and entomology facilitating botany. It was his extensive and accurate knowledge of plants that rendered him so [171] expert in finding rare insects, being aware what species the latter feed upon, and familiar with their forms. ”

“ The advice of a prominent ornithologist to beginners to collect all the birds of a species they can get, has so long misrepresented the necessities of the case and, at the same time, brought legitimate collecting into disrepute, that every one having the interests of the science of ornithology at heart will read with great satisfaction the circular entitled 'Hints to Young Bird Students' which we reprint on another page. ”

“ But the ornithologist knows its value, and in a world increasingly bustling and progressive there is a curious fascination in so remote and deliberate a region, over which, even in the finest weather and during the busiest harvest, a suggestion of desolation broods. ”

“ It is one of the capital advantages of the ornithologist's condition that he is rarely called upon to spend his time and strength for naught. If he fails of the particular object of his search, he is all but sure to [86] be rewarded with something else. For example, while I was unsuccessfully playing the spy upon a pair of my solitary vireos, a female tanager suddenly dropped into her half-built nest in a low pine-branch, at the same time calling softly to her mate, who at once came to sit beside her. ”

“ In other cases, it enables the painter to group his figures, in the most beautiful and varied attitudes, on the trees or plants they frequent. Some are feeding, others darting, pursuing, or capturing their prey; all have life and animation. The plants, fruits and flowers which enrich the scene are alone still. These latter, from their critical accuracy, are as valuable to the botanist as the birds are to the ornithologist.
Such is the general character of the work, but it is of a nature to demand a more particular notice. ”

“ A good ornithologist should be able to distinguish birds by their air as well as by their colours and shape; on the ground as well as on the wing, and in the bush as well as in the hand. For, though it must not be said that every species of birds has a manner peculiar to itself, yet there is somewhat in most genera at least, that at first sight discriminates them, and enables a judicious observer to pronounce upon them with some certainty. ”

“ During the twenty years that elapsed before the present edition was ready for the press, American ornithology had a great development. The number of distinguished species increased to nearly nine hundred; numerous treatises were published on the subject; a distinctly American school grew up, introducing important changes in nomenclature and classification; and an American Ornithologists' Union was founded, with members in all quarters of the globe. In preparing this edition, the classification and nomenclature have been modified to suit the growth of the science ”

“ Advertisements should be sent to the Publishers at Englewood, New Jersey, or 66 Fifth avenue, New York City.
COPYRIGHTED, 1899, BY FRANK M. CHAPMAN.
Bird-Lore's Motto:
A Bird in the Bush is Worth Two in the Hand.
It has recently been remarked that the field ornithologists of to-day are of two kinds: first, those who collect; second, those who observe. The status of these two types of ornithologists, and the parts they play in the advancement of the science of ornithology, is a subject of the utmost importance to every one interested in the study of birds. ”

“ Now that the work has been fairly started, I hope that all brother Ornithologists in India will aid me to make the work somewhat worthy of the Science of which we are common votaries. Singlehanded, and with almost my whole time devoted to the performance of public duties, it is certain that even were I far better qualified for the task than I can pretend to be, no satisfactory results could be hoped for,—it is on the co-operation of Indian Ornithologists generally, that success must be dependant, and that co-operation I now most earnestly solicit. ”

“ I almost made up my mind to begin collecting all the insects which I could find dead, for on consulting my sister I concluded that it was not right to kill insects for the sake of making a collection. From reading White’s ‘Selborne,’ I took much pleasure in watching the habits of birds, and even made notes on the subject. In my simplicity I remember wondering why every gentleman did not become an ornithologist. ”

“ Of course no one with a spark of interest in hunting and the natural history of the higher vertebrates will be without Forest and Stream—a whole sportsman's and naturalist's library in itself,—or The Field, or Sports Afield. No young ornithologist can get along without his best friend, the Ornithologist and Oologist, and it would indeed be rank heresy for the professional bird-man to ignore the stately and infallible Auk. ”

“ The illustrations are such as every user of the camera and indeed every ornithologist may delight in. The frontispiece showing a Least Bittern on its nest and two half-tones of a Killdeer and nest, photographed from life, are notable examples of the possibilities of the camera in the field. The leading articles which treat chiefly of avian photography will benefit ornithologists who have photographic field work in view. ”

“ This is by far the best edition of the American Ornithology, both on account of the beautiful plates and the interesting notes of the editor. Every ornithologist must, of course, possess the work, and he should if possible procure this edition. ”

“ Not bird skins in the drawers of a cabinet, it will be understood, these being indispensable to the ornithologist, and very useful to the larger class of persons who without being ornithologists yet take an intelligent interest in birds. ”

“ 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 {12} 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. ”

“ She doesn't even heed me when I tell her that ornithology is a first-rate pursuit for men, but a bad one for cats. I suspect that she studies the birds with greater care than I do; for now I can get all I want of a bird and let him remain in the bush, but Silly Sally is a thorough-going ornithologist ”

“ It is intended to promote the knowledge of birds, but is not in any sense a primer of ornithology. Just as we sometimes find a Professor of natural history who is not a naturalist, so we have in our authoress a lover of birds who is clearly not a scientific ornithologist. With this we have no complaint to make, for under the present circumstances we rather welcome the innovation, as the book makes no pretence to be anything but "an introductory acquaintance with one hundred and fifty birds commonly found in the gardens, meadows, and woods about our homes" ”

“ Poet and ornithologist, b. at Paisley, where he worked as a weaver, afterwards becoming a pedlar. He pub. some poems, of which the best is Watty and Maggie, and in 1794 went to America, where he worked as a pedlar and teacher. His skill in depicting birds led to his becoming an enthusiastic ornithologist, and he induced the publisher of Rees's Cyclopaedia, on which he had been employed, to undertake an American ornithology to be written and illustrated by him. ”

“ The would-be Ornithologist in India must also remember that it is not only the dry skins of birds which are required by the systematist who, though he may have the good fortune to work in big museums and other centres where masses of material are available for comparison and where good libraries are at hand for reference, yet urgently needs specimens, especially of the rarer forms in spirit, not only for anatomical purposes but for the study of Pterylosis etc. ”

“ Sci., Philadelphia. These "hints" are addressed to students who desire to become scientific ornithologists and to whom specimens are a necessity. They show, however, how few specimens are required, and how much more there is to learn from living birds than from dead ones.
It has always been our experience that young bird students who have just crossed the threshold of ornithology are glad to turn for a word of advice and assistance to their older brethren, who have already made some progress in the science; and it has always been a pleasure for us to give such aid. ”

“ Even if you turn mere ornithologist, with an interest in feathers or species rather than in birds, hearing is a better or surer sense than sight if you would name birds without the needless barbarity of killing them for identification. ”

“ THE RED TURTLE DOVE
Insects and birds, on account of the vast number of species they present, furnish the best available material for the study of evolution. It is owing to the fact that most Professors of Zoology are neither entomologists nor ornithologists that biological science is in its present deplorably backward condition. There exists scarcely a zoological theory, be it neo-Lamarckian or neo-Darwinian, that the competent ornithologist is not able to refute. ”

“ The student who, with these easily acquired animals, these plates, a very moderate dissecting apparatus, and a pair of fairly intelligent eyes, does not find a key to the mysteries of animal life must have mistaken his vocation.
Bird Hunting on the White Nile. By Harry F. Witherby.⁠The Office of 'Knowledge.' Mr. Witherby has great opportunities, and, as an ornithologist, he certainly tries to make the best of them. ”

“ The appearance of so great a work from the hands of a most methodical, learned, and sagacious naturalist, aided by two of the leading ornithologists of America (John Cassin and George N. Lawrence) , exerted an influence perhaps stronger and more widely felt than that of any of its predecessors, Audubon's and Wilson's not excepted, and marked an epoch in the history of American ornithology. . . . Such a monument of original research is likely to remain for an indefinite period a source of inspiration to lesser writers, while its authority as a work of reference will always endure. ”