INTRODUCTION. 13 
(and pleasantly, I hope) to that fag-end of feather- 
dom, a dabchick. 
North American birds, taken as a whole, are not 
brilliantly colored, but there is not one that is posi- 
tively ugly, except, perhaps, one or more of those 
that live on the water, and so hardly count. There 
are scores that are plain as pikestaffs, like the pe- 
wee or cat-bird; but this want of fine feathers is 
always compensated for by a gentleness of manner, 
sweetness of voice, or pert vivacity, that renders 
these very birds more dear to us than the gaudy 
cardinal or reclusive tanager. 
This subject of color should, perhaps, be treated 
in a more serious way, for it is one that has great 
bearing on philosophical zoology, but the reader 
must refer to technical works for a detailed discus- 
sion. Let me here say, however, that the most bril- 
liant birds are not necessarily very conspicuous. In 
summer, with dense foliage about them, they have a 
knack of moving in and out among bushes and 
flowers in such a way that very sharp eyes are re- 
quired to see them; and I have often been surprised 
to find that our cardinal grosbeak, in winter, is not 
so very showy, if there are a few yellow and brown 
oak leaves scattered about. When perched upon a 
bare twig extending from a snow-bank and whistling 
like a cowboy, he attracts a deal of attention natu- 
rally, but his wits are equal to the occasion, and 
not often does the lively sparrow-hawk surprise him. 
The cardinal can slide into a tangle of green brier 
with a celerity that only an advanced mathematician 
can calculate. 
