C. H. Merriam — Birds of Connecticut. 3 



in neighboring districts, may, at some future time, be looked for 

 with a degree of success directly proportionate to the ornitho-distri- 

 butional knowledge of the writer. In the preparation of the follow- 

 ing list I have scrupulously examined the evidence on which each 

 species stands, and have rigorously excluded all those whose occur- 

 rence rests on insufficient proof. 



In a note, under each genus or family, will be found those species 

 which should, and probably do, occur, but which, owing to the small 

 number of collectors in this State, have not as yet been detected. 

 Information has been solicited from all, so far as I have been able to 

 ascertain, who are familiar with our birds— whether active collectors 

 or not— and I take this means of expressing my thanks and gratitude 

 for the many favors received, believing, at the same time, that they 

 should not be regarded as mere personal favors, but as real contribu- 

 tions to science, for in preparing this list I act but as the exponent 

 of the present state of our knowledge concerning the birds of Connec- 

 ticut. I am indebted to my friends, Mr. George Bird Grinnell, Mr. 

 A. J. Dayan, Prof. Wm. D. Whitney, Dr. Win. II. Hotchkiss, Mr. 

 Thomas B. Osborne, Mr. E. B. Wilson, Dr. F. W. Hall, Walter R. 

 Nichols, the Stadtmuller Brothers, Robert F. Morris, and Fred. Sum- 

 ner Smith, for information relating to species found in the immediate 

 vicinity of New Haven; to Capt. O. N. Brooks, of Faulkner's Island 

 Light, for a list of the water birds of that portion of the Sound; 

 to Messrs. W. W. Coe and John II. Sage, of Portland, Erwin 

 I. Shores, of Suftield, and J. N. Clark, of Saybrook, Conn., for notes 

 on the species observed in the Connecticut Valley ; to Dr. William 

 Wood, of East Windsor Hill, Conn., for valuable information on the 

 time of occurrence and relative abundance of many of the rarer 

 species — especially in regard to the Hawks and Owls ; to Prof. G. 

 Brown Goode, of Middletown, Conn., not only for throwing open for 

 my inspection the cases of birds contained in the Museum of Wesleyan 

 University, but also for laboriously searching the Museum Catalogue 

 for records of the capture of the rarer species within the State ; to 

 Josiah G. Ely, Esq., for notes on the rarer species found about Lyme, 

 New London County, Conn. ; and to Drs. D. Crary and D. Crary, Jr., 

 of Hartford, Conn., for information concerning the less common birds 

 of that vicinity. To each of these gentlemen due credit is given under 

 the species to which their notes pertain. I am also under obligations 

 to Mr. Robert Riclgway, of the Smithsonian Institution, Dr. Thomas 

 M. Brewer, of Boston, and Mr. William Brewster, of Cambridge,^ 

 the identification of birds and eggs, and for other information, <V^ 



