PRKKACK. 



The object of the present publication is to provide the members 

 of the Delaware Valley Ornithological Club, as well as other orni- 

 tholigists of Eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with a summary 

 of our present knowledge of the birds of this district with regard to 

 their abundance, distribution and time of occurrence ; as well as to 

 furnish a work of reference for ornithologists in general on the birds 

 of these States. 



No attempt is made to describe birds nor to treat of their habits, 

 these matters being fully considered in the more general works on 

 North American Ornithology to which the present volume should be 

 considered supplementary — treating only of the status of the various 

 species of birds as members of the Fauna of Eastern Pennsylvania 

 and New Jersey. 



We have endeavored to make the work as complete as possible, and 

 besides presenting a large amount of hitherto unpublished matter, 

 have brought together in one volume all the more important infor- 

 mation contained in the various published lists and scattered notes 

 on the birds of this district. 



Recognizing the importance of a knowledge of the subjects of geo- 

 graphical distribution and migration of birds to the ornithologist of 

 to-day and the increased value which attaches to his observations 

 from the possession of such a knowledge, we have prepared a brief 

 general outline of these subjects and a more detailed treatment of 

 them with reference to the region under consideration. These chap- 

 ters will, we hope, prove of value in turning the attention of begin- 

 ners in the study of our birds, to these important lines of investiga- 

 tion. 



In compiling the main portion of the work, the author has to 

 express his thanks to the members of the Delaware Valley Ornitho- 

 logical Club for their valuable assistance in placing their notes and 

 collections at his disposal ; and especially is he indebted to Messrs. 

 George S. Morris and Samuel N. Rhoads, his fellow-members of the 



(V) 



