Page:Field key to the land birds .. (IA fieldkeytolandbi00knob).pdf/32

2 ElELD KEY TO THE LAND BIRDS.

2

in color or otherwise are placed close together, to enable the student to observe their differences readily and

quickly, and at the foot of each plate are a few remarks draw attention to points of difference between birds Unless otherwise that closely resemble each other. specified, the male bird in spring plumage has been chosen for representation, as in some cases he changes his coat later in the year, and becomes similar to the The females and young are usually similar to female. the males in shape and marking, with the black, hoAvever, turned to gray or brown, and the other colors grayWhenever there is a radical difference the ish or faded. female or young, as well as the male, has been represented in the plates, and minor variations have been to

mentioned in the

text.

North the year around the summer and spend the winter while others are here during the winter, farther south and breed to the northward in the summer and a great number pass through in the spring and fall, breeding to These the northward and wintering to the southward. facts are important to the student, as the number of birds For example, to choose from varies with the season. there are thirty-two sparrows and finches, of which

Some

birds stay with us in the

some breed here

in





an all-the-year-round bird, 12 are winter birds, spending the summer northward, 2 are birds of passage, here only in the spring and

1 is

fall,

17 are

and

summer

birds,

spending the winter South.