INTRODUCTORY NOTE 



It is not merely the fact that the author of this book 

 is recognized by ornithologists as one of the foremost 

 experts in America as regards the life and habits of 

 birds that has led the pubHshers to urge him to write 

 this biography of a bird lover. Neither is it chiefly 

 the fact that his favorite study has led him into many 

 not well-known parts of the country, where his experi- 

 ences, personal and scientific, have been curious and 

 interesting. It is rather because Mr. Scott in quite an 

 unusual, perhaps even unique, degree has brought the 

 life of birds nearer to the life of man — has established, 

 so to speak, personal relationships with the whole bird 

 kingdom. 



A visit to Princeton, where Mr. Scott occupies the 

 post of Curator of the Department of Ornithology in 

 the University, and a few hours spent with his remark- 

 able collection of live birds, would show clearly what is 

 meant. Here, in a " laboratory " forming part of his 

 own house, are in six rooms about five hundred live 

 birds, native and foreign. No small part of the author's 

 time and all the time of an assistant are spent in caring 

 for these birds and in studying them. The collection 

 has not been made for the ordinary purposes of an 

 aviary, — that is, to teach and please a multitude of 

 visitors, — but is primarily designed for the purpose 

 of conducting investigation that may lead to a better 



