Introduction 



same time counted of equal moment a 

 genuine reproduction in these pages of 

 the very atmosphere of healthful Hfe amidst 

 which everything here set down was 

 revealed to him. For he knows that this 

 alone can make the quest of birds for 

 others just what he has found it — not a 

 mechanical occupation at all, but a sen- 

 tient delight and an absolute blessing. 



And, finally, rel^dng upon these con- 

 siderations, he hopes also that the reader 

 may not only bear with him for weaving 

 in threads of verse here and there, but, 

 lending a willing ear, may even be able 

 to detect some of the birds merely pic- 

 tured in the prose actually singing — if 

 but faintly — in the rhymes that appear; 

 so that the whole aspect of what this 

 volume lifts up to be laid hold of may 

 not be that of a task tending to repel, 

 through its magnitude and detail, any who 

 draw nigh, but rather of labor made play 

 by reason of its kindly compensations 

 and entire simphcity. 



No reference has been made to Mr. Baily^s 

 [13] 



