Ornithology

“ It should be remembered that while a name is a handle to a fact, too many handles would make a door or a basket perfectly useless. Ornithology will become a wilderness of handles if every difference is named at sight,—a wilderness of subspecies founded more on hasty opinions than on digested facts. ”

“ Of the ornithology of books, of ornithology as a science, with its systems, classifications, genera, and species, he knows nothing, of course, but he knows every bird you can refer to under some favourite provincial cognomen, and he knows it so thoroughly that no one could possibly know it better. ”

“ If the gathering and examination of ferns and wild–flowers be a perennial pastime, quite as hearty is the enjoyment that comes of observing the forms of birds, always so elegant, the diversities of their vestures, their odd and entertaining manners and customs, their ingenuity, characters, and tempers, their almost human instincts, and their incessant prefiguration of human character. This last is, in truth, not simply one of the most curious and amusing parts of ornithology, but literally the inexhaustible part. ”

“ On reviewing the progress of ornithology since the end of the 18th century, the first thing that will strike us is the fact that general works, though still undertaken, have become proportionally fewer, while special works, whether relating to the ornithic portion of the fauna of any particular country, or limited to certain groups of birds—works to which the name of “Monograph” has become wholly restricted—have become far more numerous. ”

“ Unluckily, Ornithology is a science, and a science which embraces all the birds in the world; and we must have some means of knowing for certain that we shall be understood of all the world when we mention a bird’s name. ”

“ It marks an epoch in the history of North American ornithology. The future ornithologist is not to be a mere hoarder of birds' skins, but a student of bird-life whose researches, we predict, will prove an invaluable aid in the solution of that most difficult and most important of all biologic problems, the relation of animals to their environment. ”

“ Our predecessors have not been well versed in the history and bibliography of Ornithology, nor indeed have they professed such information. It is in fact a description of knowledge to be attained with difficulty in any country,—so great, indeed, that no one Ornithologist has ever yet been completely acquainted with the bibliography of his science. ”

“ Ornithology as a science is modern, at best not over two centuries and a half old, while as a popular pursuit its age is better reckoned by decades. It is, therefore, highly gratifying to those who feel this primal instinct strongly to be able to note the rising tide of interest in their favorite study. ”

“ In these days, when so much more attention is paid to ornithology than formerly, it will be hardly necessary to observe that the two birds thus associated together are not only of very distinct species, but belong to widely different genera. ”

“ Ornithology is the furthest refined of the systematic sciences. So zealous have been her devotees and so sagacious her high priests, that no shade of difference in size, form or hue of a bird is allowed to pass unnoticed, or its owner unnamed. ”

“ Witmer Stone, in a paper read at the meeting of the American Ornithologists’ Union in San Francisco, last May, outlines the development of western ornithology prior to 1850. Anyone interested in the history of early work in the West will find here a clear, compact, and convenient résumé of the contributors to ornithology made by [111] the voyages and expeditions of Captain Cook, La Pérouse, Vancouver, Lewis and Clarke, Major Long, Captain Wyeth and Captain Beechey, and special reference to the birds collected by Peale, Say, Townsend, Nuttall, Bell and Heermann. ”

“ If we limit our attention to the science of ornithology, we find that these men knew far more about the anatomy of birds than the majority of twentieth century naturalists. Not only did they observe the habits of wild birds, study their migrations, examine their crops to ascertain the nature of their food, measure their skins, investigate their changes of plumage, trace their distribution, and describe their eggs, but they paid profound attention to both the muscular system of birds and their osteology. They were nothing if not thorough in their devotion to our beloved science. ”

“ It has therefore seemed to me that what is needed at first is not the science of ornithology,—however diluted,—but some account of the life and habits, to arouse sympathy and interest in the living bird, neither as a target nor as a producer of eggs, but as a fellow-creature whose acquaintance it would be pleasant to make. ”

“ Subsequently he devoted his attention exclusively to the study of ornithology, becoming in 1880 assistant in charge of the collection of birds and mammals in the Boston society of natural history, and in 1885 curator of ornithology at the museum of comparative zoölogy, Cambridge. ”

“ Tell them the facts, that I have greatly added to the Ornithology of the United States since my absence from Europe, that the number of species which I now have, and that are not given by Wilson or Bonaparte, combined, amounts to nearly one hundred, and that the Water Birds will be fully equal in point of interest and beauty, to any of the land Birds that are published. ”

“ Ornithology has received unwonted attention of late, not only in scientific works but also in popular literature, and it has taken at last a deserved place upon the curriculum of many of our colleges and secondary schools. ”

“ The birds therefore have been now divided into certain natural groups, including the foreign and domesticated species, to each of which groups a chapter has been devoted; and I have thought it desirable to give, by way of introduction, a sketch of Shakespeare’s general knowledge of natural history and acquaintance with field-sports, as bearing more or less directly on his special knowledge of Ornithology, which I propose chiefly to consider. ”

“ To take the science of ornithology, for instance: I suppose you would have very little hope of shooting a bird in England, which should be strange to any master of the science, or of shooting one anywhere, which would not fall under some species already described. ”

“ The volumes on Birds are put forward merely as supplementary to the several excellent works already published on British Ornithology. Hence it is unnecessary to enter into a description of the form or plumage, or into a general history of each species, these subjects having been amply treated of in the publications alluded to. The whole economy of the species, however, though not always dwelt upon, will be often fully illustrated from original observation. ”

“ It does not add much to the knowledge of scientific ornithology, but it will be read with pleasure by all lovers of birds. It is no small advantage to now and again meet with a naturalist who really loves his subject, and is not merely a describer of species, a critical nomenclator, or a resurrectionist in archaic technicalities. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Although, as of yore, Ornithology has received a considerable share of attention, other branches of Natural History have not been neglected, and the many interesting observations on Mammals, Fishes and Crustacea which have been recorded during the year 1878 in these pages show how much there was to gather, how much still remains to be gleaned, even in the circumscribed field of British Zoology. ”

“ Henceforward you will understand better the name of the 'rapacious order' or 'birds of prey,' which is given by naturalists to vultures, eagles, falcons, and owls. You are aware that the science which describes the habits of birds is called ornithology. Cuvier, the great classifier, divides the feathered tribe into six orders—birds of prey, passerines, climbers, gallinaceans, wading, and web-footed birds. In order to prevent confusion, the orders have been subdivided into families, the families into groups, the groups into genera, and the genera into species. ”

“ With this phenomenal and steadily increasing interest in bird-studies, there has arisen a widespread demand for a popular journal of ornithology which should be addressed to observers rather than to collectors of birds, or, in short, to those who study "birds through an opera-glass." ”

“ The omission of these is very much regretted by the author, who in explanation, if not justification, would state that it has been quite impossible for him to cover the whole field; that the literature of ornithology is so vast, and increasing so rapidly, that to bring the bibliography and synonymy of all the species up to date and keep it so would require all the time that any one individual could possibly give to it ”

“ Ornithology and entomology are the studies which now impel most field-work, and for actual observations the followers of the first science appear to almost excel those of the second, a conclusion hitherto scarcely suspected—at least by the writer.
There are many invertebrates which are practically ignored in our pages. ”

“ The sciences and arts, those attendants on peaceful commerce, are now sources of pleasure to many of our citizens, and at the present day there are not a few individuals among us, devotedly engaged in the pursuit of zoology in all its branches. So rapid has been the progress of ornithology in particular, that I should hesitate before asserting that any American, however uncultured, now believes that Rails burrow in the mud. ”

“ 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 ”

“ To render the subject of ornithology clear, and its study attractive, has been the great aim of the author of this beautiful little volume. It contains descriptions of all our British birds, with the exception of those which may be considered in the light of stragglers, and which are not likely to fall in the way of the young naturalist, for whose use this work is intended. ”

“ These two chicks we pocketed for specimens, but we were so touched by the way the old Lapwings followed us over the moor crying so plaintively that more humane feelings got the better of us, and we returned to the spot and placed both young birds where we had found them. Such little episodes as these go so far, we always think, in making ornithology so very attractive. ”

“ The science of ornithology demands the collecting of any reasonable number of birds to further its ends, and personally I have taken the lives of birds with as much zeal as any, when the skins were desired for actual use. ”

“ Thus it will be seen that the study of ornithology is made more difficult, and at the same time more interesting, by this change of toilet among the birds,—more difficult, because the observer must learn to identify the birds in their youthful as well as in their adult plumage; and more interesting, because of the greater variety thus given to this branch of scientific inquiry.
92 VIII.
NEST-HUNTING.
Nothing in Nature is more pregnant with suggestion than the nest of a bird. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Soon you meet complaints from well meaning persons who object to robbing birds' nests, and you reply that you are collecting for scientific purposes. Very good; science has need of you all, but do you know what scientific ornithology—real ornithology—is? ”

“ The popular teaching of ornithology in America has advanced farther than botany. In its early days collecting 'sets of eggs' and skins of birds were prominent features of the work and the extinction of the great auk was one of the results. But now, partly through nature study and partly through the influence of the Audubon Society, studying the habits of birds, naming them without a gun, photographing eggs in the nest and birds in the bush are the most popular aspects of the study. ”

“ In all excursions to the woods or to the shore the student of ornithology has an advantage over his companions. He has one more, avenue of delight. He, indeed, kills two birds with one stone and sometimes three. If others wander, he can never get out of his way. ”

“ 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. ”