PREFACE 



If the perusal of this little volume gives the reader one 

 tithe of the pleasure which the gathering of the material 

 gave the writer, the printing of the pages will not have 

 been in vain. The lakesides and prairies of the Middle 

 West are rich in bird life. The opera glass is a much more 

 satisfactory field companion than the shot gun. 



Parts of a few of the chapters have appeared in Outing 

 of New York; Birds and Nature, the Tribune, the Post, and 

 the Record-Herald of Chicago. My thanks are due to the 

 Managing Editors of these publications for permission to 

 reprint such portions of the articles as I desired. 



EDWARD B. CLARK. 



