BRIEF FOREWORD 



WITH sincere pleasure the author would ac- 

 knowledge the uniform courtesy of editors 

 and publishers in permitting him to reprint 

 many of the articles comprised in this volume, from 

 the various periodicals in which they first appeared. 



He also desires to express his special indebtedness to 

 Mr. Charles E. Aiken, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, 

 whose contributions to the ornithology of the West 

 have been of great scientific value, and to whose large 

 and varied collection of bird-skins the author had fre- 

 quent access for the purpose of settling difficult points 

 in bird identification. This obliging gentleman also 

 spent many hours in conversation with the writer, 

 answering his numerous questions with the intelligence 

 of the scientifically trained observer. Lastly, he kindlv 

 corrected some errors into which the author had inad- 

 vertently fallen. 



\^^hile the area covered by the writer's personal ob- 

 servations mav be somewhat restricted, yet the scientific 

 bird-list at the close of the volume widens the field so 

 as to include the entire avi-fauna of Colorado so far as 



