OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS 



IN THIS VOLUME are presented the principal articles and the most 

 beautiful color illustrations of man's feathered friends which have 



been published in the National Geographic Magazine during the 

 last six years. The text and pictures comprise one of the most valua- 

 ble and fascinatingly interesting contributions to popular science the 

 National Geographic Society has devised, and the most comprehen- 

 sive and charming handbook of avian lore that has ever been offered 

 at a moderate price. 



The 250 illustrations in color of the Common Birds of Town 

 and Country, of our Warblers and American Game Birds, are repro- 

 ductions of the matchless pictures from the brush of the distin- 

 guished artist-naturalist, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, while the descriptive 

 text by Henry W. Henshaw, formerly Chief of the U. S. Biological 

 Survey, sets forth concisely, entertainingly, yet with scientific accu- 

 racy, the distinguishing characteristics of each species of bird, its 

 peculiar habits, and its favorite habitat. 



Dr. Henshaw has pointed out the need for the preservation of 

 bird life, and how the farmer without his feathered insect-destroyers 

 would face constant disaster to his crops. 



Few wonders of the natural world are as compelling in interest 

 as is the display of that mysterious impulse which is followed season 

 after season by the birds which migrate from their winter homes to 

 their nesting places in the spring, and then make the return journey 

 in the fall, guided no one knows how — an absorbing study for both 

 layman and scientist. The article by the late Wells W. Cooke, "Our 

 Greatest Travelers: Birds that Fly from Pole to Pole, etc.," gives a 

 most comprehensive and engaging digest of these mysterious migra- 

 tions, and tile text is elucidated by a series of illuminating ina])s and 

 charts. 



Frederick H. Kennards article, "Knconraging Hii-ds Around 



the Home," accompanied by numerous illustrations in black and 



white, tells with the hird-lover's enthusiasm how evci'v irader. he he 



III 



