4 (J. H. Merrlara — Birds of Connecticut. 



My thanks are especially due to W. W. Coe, John H. Sage, Ei win 

 I. Sliores, Thomas B. Osborne, Capt. (). N. Brooks, and the Stadt- 

 niiiller Brothers, for phieing their manuscript notes at my disposal ; 

 also, to Professors A. E. Verrill, Sidney I. Smith, and Franklin 

 B. Dexter, for the use of books not in the College Library ; and 

 to Dr. William H. Hotchkiss for aid in the preparation of the special 

 lists appended to this paper, as well as for much kindly assistance 

 rendered from time to time during the progress of the work. 



Numerous references have been made to the writings of others, 

 and I hold myself i-esponsible for all dates and statements of any 

 kind, where the contrary is not expressly stated. Neither have 

 quotations been omitted, when they seemed desirable, either for the 

 value of the facts they contain, or for their antiquity; and, as a 

 rule I have taken pains to refer to the older and less accessible 

 works, rather than to those with which we are all familiar. 



Although Ornithology, as a science, is, in this country, of compara- 

 tively recent date, still that the birds of New England early attracted 

 the attention of our forefathers is evident from their writings. In 

 the year 1616, Capt. John Smith said that there were, in New Eng- 

 land, " Eagles, Gripes, diners sorts of Haukes, Cranes, Geese, Brants, 

 Cormorants, Ducks, Sheldrakes, Teale, Meawes, Guls, Turkies, Diue- 

 doppers, and many other sorts, whose names I knowe not."* And a 

 few years later (1622) one William Hilton writes that the land 

 " affoords beasts of diuers sorts, and great flocks of Turkies, Quailes 

 Pigeons and Patriges : many great lakes abounding with fsh, fowls, 

 Beuers and Otters. The sea affoords us as great plenty of all excellent 

 sorts of sea-fish, as the riuers and lies doth varietie of icild fowls of 

 most vseful .sor^s."f And there are numerous others of a like nature, 

 some of which have been rejjroduced under the species to which they 

 refer. 



It is worthy of note that many birds once common along the coast, 

 and some throughout the greater ])art of New England, are now 

 either extremely rare or not to be met with :it all within its limits, 

 while a few species have unquestionably increased in numbers since 

 the country has become settled. Among the former class may be 

 mentioned the Great Auk {Alca impennis), the Crane {Grus Cana- 

 densis, and perhaps G. Americana also), the S^van (Cygnus Ameri- 

 canus, and perhaps C. buccinator), the Wild Turkey (Ifeleagris gallo- 

 pavo), the Pinnated Grouse or Prairie Chicken (Cupidonia cupido), 



* A Description of New England, by Capt. John Smith, p. 16. 1616. 

 f New England's Trials, p. 14. 1622. 



