PREFACE 



111 presenting- this list of the hirds of the Fresno (Hstrict the author is aware 

 of its incompleteness. In this connection it might he well to state that some 

 fifty species of hirds re])orted from various sources have been omitted entirely 

 for the reason that nothing- definite could be recorded in regard to their habits 

 and distribution, or because some doubt existed as to their being correctly iden- 

 tified. 



More than ten years have elapsed since the first notes for this work were 

 jotted down and in view of the mass of data available it seemed worth while to 

 put on record the result of these years of observation in a region that has been 

 all but neglected by ornithologists. 



In looking over such literature as was available the writer has frequently 

 been impressed with the lack of definite dates and other information regarding 

 many of our most common birds. In many cases only two or three nesting or 

 migration dates have been available from the entire State and these from widely 

 separated points. It was the desire to place on record the many apparently ob- 

 vious but hard-to-find facts pertaining to the birds of central California that, 

 more than anything else perhaps, induced me to hasten the completion of th's 

 work. 



Efforts were made to communicate with several persons who were known to 

 have worked in this field ])revious to the advent of those who are now interested 

 in bird study, -with a thought of incorporating in the present paper such informa 

 tion as they might furnish ; but the project was finally abandoned, as it proved 

 to be an impossible task to learn the addresses of one or two, while the few re- 

 plies that were received did not contain a sufficient amount of the desired infor- 

 mation to be of distinct value. 



The present paper, then, is simply a compilation of the knowledge of the 

 present day workers in this part of the State, and should be regarded more as a 

 vantage point from which we may begin anew a series of better and more thor- 

 ough observations, than as a final review of all that is to be learned of the birds 

 of Fresno County. 



My only regret is that so little time has been available for bird study ; but 

 should my readers succeed in gleaning here and there from these pages some 

 few grains of information that will tend to make them better acquainted with 

 our feathered friends, or that will add a few facts to the general knowledge 

 concerning the birds of this region, then the author's labors will not have been 

 in vain. The real mission of this work will have been fulfilled, however, only 

 when someone, more fortunately equipped with time and opportunities than the 

 writer has ever been, is lead to see. not the little that has been done but rather 

 the wonderful field for original research that exists in Fresno County, and is 

 persuaded to take up and complete this work that has ever been so fascinating. 



