PREFACE, Vii 
ting a few species and those mainly among the Ptarmi- 
gan, Partridges and Grouse breed within the limits of the 
United States, and their habits in the nesting season can 
be observed by anyone who may be sufficiently inter- 
ested to visit those parts of our country in which the 
birds are to be found. 
Their nests are similar in construction, but the eggs 
vary greatly in coloration, and some, like those of the 
Ptarmigan, are strongly characteristic and unmistak- 
able in their markings. The eggs of the Partridges are 
usually of one color and unspotted, those of the Grouse 
and Turkeys more or less covered with spots, which 
differ in hue from the ground color. 
Having provided in the work on “Shore Birds” a 
map which gave the position and name of all the differ- 
ent portions of a bird’s plumage, it does not seem neces- 
sary to issue another for the birds contained in this, a 
companion volume, for the arrangement of the plumage 
in all birds is the same, although the shape of the 
feathers may be very different, and the terms by which 
these are known do not vary. 
The plates which adorn the volume are the production 
of the clever pencil of Mr. Edwin Sheppard, who illus- 
trated the “ Shore Birds,” and like those drawings, these, 
executed with equal fidelity, will be of the utmost assist- 
ance in helping those unfamiliar with the species to 
recognize their specimens without difficulty. 
The Latin names employed, except when reasons are 
given in the articles or in the Appendix for changing 
them, are those of the last edition of the Check List 
issued by the American Ornithologists’ Union. 
The author sincerely trusts that this book will prove to 
be of value to all sportsmen, and help bring to their mem- 
ories halcyon days amid the game birds in tangled brake 
