EXPLANATION OF PLATES. 



Plates I and II contain all the commoner (and 

 some of the rarer) winter land birds of the north- 

 eastern United States. They are arranged on shelves 

 as if they were displayed in a museum case. In 

 fact, the idea for illustrations grew from a seasonal 

 collection of birds which many years ago the author 

 placed on exhibition in the American Museum of 

 Natural History. The figures are small, but so 

 accurately has Mr. Sawyer drawn them that minute 

 details of form and color are shown as effectively 

 as though the birds were much larger. The great 

 advantage of these figures over most bird illus- 

 trations is that all those in the same case are drawn 

 to the same scale. (The scale in Plate II being 

 slightly larger than in Plate I.) One can therefore 

 gain a better idea of actual size from these drawings 

 than is possible when the Crow and Kinglet, for 

 example, are made of equal size. Furthermore, this 

 plan permits of the direct comparison of one species 

 with another, while a glance at the two plates 

 gives one a comprehensive conception of our winter 

 bird-life. 



