It is very much the same with a bird. After being attracted to him and fixing upon his name as an individual his identity should be still further established by finding to what family he belongs and then later on placing this family in one of the great orders of the bird world. These two last should not be dwelt upon, however, until the identity as an individual is established, but in the end it will help to keep the name in the memory to know the kinship of families as well.
There are many little points of comparison, of scientific but not general value that cannot be seen unless the dead bird is held in the hand, and then only a wise man, perhaps, would be able to point them out. It is with the living bird, on the wing or in its nest in the bushes, that we are concerned; not with the poor little dead thing with its limp neck and bloody, rumpled feathers.
We should not learn enough from such a bird to in any way make up for taking its life; it would be both wasteful and against the law. So we must be content to believe what the Wise Men say, who must study the dead birds in order to preserve the scientific knowledge of their structure and keep them in public museums, that they may teach the world how wonderful a thing bird-life is, and show us that we must do all we can to protect it. For the Wise Men know very well that—
You cannot with a scalpel find the poet’s soul, Nor yet the wild bird’s song!
II A Rainy Day—The school at Foxes Corners at 9 the beginning of the fall term.
III Gray Lady at School—The bird. What is it? To 18 whom does it belong? The bird year—The migrations, the moulting, etc.
IV The Orchard Party—The children’s luncheon and 38 the bird’s lunch-counter. Gray Lady makes a plan.
V Reasons Why—Why birds need protection. The 51 uses of birds. What they do for us and what we should do for them—housing, feeding, etc.
VI Feathers and Hats—Egrets and Ostrich 67 plumes—The wrong and the right of it.
VII The Kind Hearts’ Club—The work that kept the 81 Fingers busy so that the Ears might listen.
VIII The Procession Passes—The fall journey—Five 89 Swallows and a changeling.
IX Two Birds that came Back—The Tame Crow and 102 the English Starling.
X Some Mischief-Makers—The American Crow, Blue 114 Jay, and Purple Grackle.
