. The Wilson bulletin . value to the detection of slight differences in theplumage of our North American birds from museum speci-mens, and perhaps a necessity for giving names to groupsof idividuals showing the differences, it remains for thecareful student of the livng birds to detect the causes forsuch variations. Of the two fields of study it must be clear toall that the study of the living bird in its environment is much the more necessar^•. Thk IUhletin has consistently urged up-on its readers the earnest pursuit of field studies, and takesthis opportunity to again urge it. We //;//.s/ kn
. The Wilson bulletin . value to the detection of slight differences in theplumage of our North American birds from museum speci-mens, and perhaps a necessity for giving names to groupsof idividuals showing the differences, it remains for thecareful student of the livng birds to detect the causes forsuch variations. Of the two fields of study it must be clear toall that the study of the living bird in its environment is much the more necessar^•. Thk IUhletin has consistently urged up-on its readers the earnest pursuit of field studies, and takesthis opportunity to again urge it. We //;//.s/ know more aboutthe living- bird before we can expect to assign him his properplace in the world of taxonomy as well the world of conserva-tion in all of its aspects. Our imperfect knowledge makes anysystem of taxonomy admittedly tentative. If we read this paper aright we will detect all along betweenthe lines a devotion to the study in hand which spells an enor-mous amount of labor. Try it if you dont believe it! [ The West KikI (.r I he l!;ini in wiiicli t lif FlicktM> Ntst AT THE SIGN OF THE NORTHERN FLICKER. R. SHERMAN. The apartment that displays flicker-signs all theyear around is our barn. These sig-ns consist of the holeschiseled through the siding; the marks left by the birdsmuddyloes and tails, and the splashes of gastric juice which some-times adher to the walls of the barn for a distance of twofeet aljove and seven feet below the hole, and remain manyweeks before they are washed off by the rain. The date of the making of the first hole has not been kept,but as long ago as 1S07 a pair of Flickers nested in the spaceinto which this hole opens, a space four by fifteen by twenty-three inches formed by a board parallel to the rafters, nailedto the studding which kept the hay back from the wall of thebarn. For purposes of (observation it was covered with a mov-able board which had a peep-hole in it. In this accidentallyformed cavity three yea
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1894
