PREFACE. 



Among the many books written on birds 

 it will be difficult to find one which deals 

 Avholh^ with these beautiful and interesting 

 creatures as they are seen in the field. Pro- 

 fessional ornithologists must, ol course, study 

 external and internal characters of birds from 

 the specimens themselves in the hand, but to- 

 day there is another class of ornithologists, 

 who by far outnumber the professional, and 

 who want to know living birds as they ap- 

 pear among the foliage of woodlands and 

 shrubbery, on the shore, or upon the waters 

 of lake, pond, and river, or upon the wide 

 ocean. This class want a book that shall 

 teach them how they can identify these birds 

 as they perch, or fly, or swim. It is evident 

 that such a book, in order to fulfill its mis- 

 sion, should be written by one who has had 

 a wide experience with living birds. 



