PREFACE 



The present volume, Birds of North Carolina, is a joint publication of the North 

 Carolina Geological and Economic Survey, the State Audubon Society of North 

 Carolina, and the State Museum. Mr. T. Gilbert Pearson, former Secretary of 

 the North Carolina Audubon Society, was asked to take the supervision of the 

 work, and, after consultation with Messrs. H. H. and C. S. Brimley, they decided 

 on a joint authorship. Tlie State Audubon Society of North Carolina for the 

 study and protection of wild liirds and animals authorized the preparation of the 

 material, and appropriated the necessary funds to have prepared the original draw- 

 ings and paintings with wliich it is illustrated. 



The object of this publication is to place in the hands of interested persons a 

 book of ready reference which will be of assistance to them in acquiring further 

 information regarding the birds of North Carolina; and also to preserve in per- 

 manent form the hitherto widely scattered data relative to the distribution and 

 occurrence of the many rare species that have been found to occur within the bor- 

 ders of the State. To assist the student in identifying birds, an artificial key to 

 the various orders, families, genera, and species of birds has been given, as well 

 as a detailed description of each one treated. As a still further aid, the book has 

 been somewhat more fully illustrated than is usual in works of this character. A 

 record of the presence of a rare bird is of little scientific value unless the date 

 and place of its appearance are noted ; hence there is frequent mention in the text 

 of the year, month, and day when birds of infrequent occurrence have been noted, 

 together with a citation of the authorities for the statement. 



The volume takes up, first, a brief historical sketch of North Carolina ornithol- 

 ogy, and an account of the work of the State Audubon Society. It has been pre- 

 pared by T. Gilbert Pearson, who was the founder of the society and who for 

 many years was its very efficient secretary. Following this is a sketch by C. S. 

 Brimley on "Life Zones and Bird Distribution," which gives a description of the 

 four life zones represented in North Carolina. 



