Bird lore - Project Puffin

The Audubon Societies 329
study and bird -protection must be dealt with by the sugar-coated-pill
method.
Birds and their natural inter-relationships with other forms of life present
an unlimited and fascinating field for investigation. Even their artificial or
so-called economic relationship to man is a subject full of interesting, unusual,
and important problems. There is, too, a dignity as well as charm about the
study of nature, which should always be borne in mind. No one has expressed
this more truly than Audubon, writing in his journal one July morning on the
bleak coast of Labrador. Impressed by the desolate grandeur of the unac-
customed scene, he was able to visualize most sensitively the charm of Nature:
"All, all is wonderfully wild and grand, ay, terrific. And yet how beautiful it is
now, when your eye sees the wild bee, moving from one flower to another in search of
food, which doubtless is as sweet to her as the essence of the orange and the magnolia
is to her more favoured sister in Louisiana. The little ring-plover rearing its delicate
and tender young; the eider duck swimming man-of-war-like amid her floating brood,
like the guard-ship of a most valuable convoy; the white-crowned bunting's sonorous
note reaching your ears ever and anon; the crowds of sea-birds in search of places wherein
to repose or to feed. I say how beautiful all this, in this wonderful rocky desert at this
season ..."
There are lecturers who present the study of birds and nature only from
the point of view of truth and beauty, and by reason of this they do not sacrifice
the dignity of the theme in a mistaken effort to please. These are the lectures
we need and should endeavor to encourage. With such a wealth of material
always at hand, if one will merely open his eyes or ears to observe, it is hardly
necessary to waste the time or patience of an audience reciting familiar examples
and overworked statistics, or rambling through an ill-assorted, fragmentary
mass of anecdotes. Huxley was an ideal teacher and an equally ideal popular
lecturer. We need to strive for his high standard of presenting truth and only
the truth, with some definite purpose or principle as a basis, whether in the
school-room or on the lecture platform. The method of presentation can hardly
fail to be attractive if one shows sufficient endeavor to have at his command
illustrative material from personal observation, and sufficient enthusiasm to
be convincing.
Audubon societies are constantly engaging lecturers to acquaint the public
with birds, and as constantly assisting teachers and pupils. There is a ready
demand for both of these forms of work. The thing which will help most is
to raise the standard both of the lectures and of the work in schools. Seek out
those lecturers who really have something to say, with or without lantern-
slides. Select wisely those books and aids which are above, rather than below
or merely up to the average, and recommend them to teachers and also to
public librarians.
Some books, lectures and aids which come to mind as being particularly
helpful are the following: