INTRODUCTION 



How TO FIND A Bird's Name. — As this book 

 is intended for beginners, scientific classification 

 has been disregarded, and the birds which read- 

 ers are most likely to know and see are placed 

 first, the rarer ones left until later. For the bene- 

 fit of those who have a definite bird to name, a 

 color key based on markings visible in the field 

 has been made to all the birds taken up (see 

 pp. xxix-xlix) ; this, when run down, will lead 

 by page reference to the description and picture 

 of the bird in the body of the book. If the 

 family to which the bird belongs is known, the 

 species will be found more quickly by turning 

 to the key of the family, referred to in the index. 



If no definite bird is to be looked up, and one 

 goes to the field unembarrassed by knowledge, 

 with the whole bird world freshly opening for 

 conquest, the matter of naming the birds and 

 learning their ways is not a difficult one. Four 

 things only are necessary — a scrupulous con- 

 science, unlimited patience, a notebook, and an 

 opera-glass. The notebook enables one to put 

 down the points which the opera-glass has brought 

 within sight, and by means of which the bird may 



