PREFACE. vii 



to study the habits of birds, with equal care and dili- 

 gence, and it is to Wilson and Audubon and Nuttall 

 that we are chiefly indebted even at this day for what 

 we know of bird-life. I must not, however, be under- 

 stood as implying that no additions have been made to 

 this branch of knowledge, nor as undervaluing the im- 

 portance of recent observations. But the field is large ; 

 and in comparison with the work accomplished by the 

 older writers, and with that which is still unknown, the 

 recent acquisitions must be termed slight. 



It was suggested to me that the new might be com- 

 bined with the old, — that an interesting and useful 

 book might be prepared by taking Nuttall's biographies 

 and inserting brief notes relating the results of recent 

 determinations in distribution and habits. That is what 

 I have attempted in the present work. The Introduc- 

 tion has been given exactly as it appeared in Nuttall's 

 second edition, and the text of the biographical matter 

 has been changed but little. My notes follow each 

 chapter in a smaller type, that they may be readily 

 distinguished. I have also rewritten the descriptions of 

 plumage, and have endeavored to phrase these in such 

 well-known and untechnical terms that they may be 

 understood by unskilled readers. To these I have 

 added a description of the nest and eggs of each 

 species. In short, an effort has been made to prepare 

 a work that will be useful to young students, as well 

 as entertaining to those who are merely interested in 

 birds. 



The new matter has been selected with special re- 

 gard for the needs of these classes of readers, for I 



