PREFACE. 



'T^HE first aim of this work is to render as popular and 

 attractive as possible, as well as to bring within a 

 small compass, the sum total of the bird-life of Eastern 

 North America. I have therefore given brief descriptions, 

 and for the most part full life histories, of all the species 

 commonly east of the Mississippi, giving special attention 

 to the songs and nesting, and dwelling upon the curious 

 and fascinating, of which there is so much in the lives of 

 these wonderful creatures. The narrative follows, in the 

 main, the order of the seasons, and groups itself about 

 certain interesting localities, as Niagara River and St. Clair 

 Flats, for instance. I give a good deal of attention to 

 migration, instinct, the analogy of nidification, the special- 

 ized forms and adaptations of structure in birds, etc., 

 endeavoring particularly to make all this readable. Par- 

 ticularly do I note the many evidences of a Designing 

 Intelligence in this department of nature. Hence the 



