PREFACE. 



The last general work on Michigan birds was prepared by Professor 

 A. J. Cook and published in 1893 as Bulletin 94 of the Michigan Agricultural 

 Experiment Station. It professed to be little more than a list of the 

 birds of the state, with some indication of distribution and abundance, 

 but without descriptions of plumage and with only occasional reference 

 to habits. Limited as was its scope it was a welcome contribution to 

 our bird literature, and since the supply was exhausted, in 1900, requests 

 for another bulletin have been received in ever increasing numbers. 



The present work has been prepared in response to a demand not only 

 for an authoritative list of Michigan birds but for such additional infor- 

 mation about each species as would be useful and interesting. Perhaps 

 it is too much to hope that this demand will be fully satisfied by the present 

 volume, but an examination of its pages will show that an attempt has 

 been made to give the main facts in the Ufe histor}- of each bird found 

 in the state, although in many cases the material has been so abundant 

 that much was necessarily omitted, and the remainder closely condensed. 

 The primary aim has been to put this information in such form as to make 

 it readily intelligible to the average citizen; not too technical to be readily 

 understood by the layman, nor so elementary as to suggest the nature- 

 study primer. 



With the hope that the book might appeal to the student and teacher, 

 as well as to the nature lover and general reader, careful descriptions of 

 all species have been incorporated and artificial keys are provided so 

 that any person with a freshly killed bird, or a prepared specimen in hand, 

 may be able to trace it out and "classify" it just as some of us learned 

 to name flowers in the days when such work was beUeved to be a necessary 

 part of any course in botany. 



iVIost of these keys have been tested for several years with college classes, 

 and while far from perfect they wdll be found "workable" in most cases. 

 They differ from other similar keys in the greater use made of measure- 

 ments, and the lesser dependence placed on mere color, which varies 

 greatly in some species with age, season and sex. Those interested in 

 the use of these keys will find suggestions and explanations on pages 12 

 to 20 of the introduction. 



It seemed eminently proper in a book of this kind, originating in, and 

 pubUshed by, an Agricultural College, that special attention should be 

 given to those species which directly affect the farmer's interests, which help 

 in the struggle against insect enemies, or which at certain times and places 

 may themselves levy tribute on his orchards and fields. Xo one section 

 of the book has been given up to this subject but the facts have been 

 stated in connection with the life history of each species treated, and the 

 relative prominence given to the matter in any case thus serves as a rough 



