A Book on Birds 



be found to contain practical clues to every 

 new specimen which the ordinary observer 

 is likely to meet with throughout this in- 

 land district of country. 



The descriptive data of the entire Hst 

 are those of the male bird only, full-grown, 

 and also in his best plumage, which is 

 generally in the spring. 



The one unspecified dimension given 

 is length of body from the end of the beak 

 or bill to the tip of the longest tail-feather. 

 It may be satisfactorily approximated off- 

 hand in each case by a beginner by com- 

 paring it with that of the Robin (our best- 

 known bird), which is ten inches. 



No attempt at ornithological designation 

 has been made in the key, other than that 

 necessary to arrange the species in their 

 proper order by families; and the author 

 has even sought to lend to these fragmentary 

 portions of the general nomenclature (with 

 its odd Greek and Latin and many fanciful 

 ideas) an elementary and popular interest 

 by translating them into plain, everyday 

 English. 



[196] 



