INTRODUCTION 
In 1896, Prof. Bruner published his list entitled ‘‘Some Notes on Nebraska 
Birds.”” As a working basis for the study of the ornithology of the state it has 
proven invaluable and it has also been greatly in demand by people not ornithol- 
ogists, who desired to ‘‘know something about our birds.’’ That edition was 
exhausted some time ago and its author hasbeen frequently, urged to publish 
another. However, the organization of the Nebraska Ornithologists’ Union 
and the development of ornithology in the University has led to such.a rapid 
increase in our knowledge in the past five years that it seemed that any publi- 
cation would soon become out of date, and so no one ventured to undertake 
the task. 
It is under these conditions that the opportunity has been offered, through 
the kindness of Ex-Governor Furnas, Secretary of the State Board of Agricul- 
ture and an enthusiastic member of the Union, to prepare something on the 
birds of the state. It seemed too good an opportunity to be lost, and yet, 
under the circumstances, the authors of this contribution feel that it ean only 
be considered, as its title states, as a preliminary review. 
It should be understood, nevertheless, preliminary in one sense as it is, that 
it has been prepared with the greatest care, and is believed to represent exactly 
the state of our knowledge at the present day. Every species has been care- 
fully considered, the specimens available examined, its occurrence in surround- 
ing states studied, the records in Bruner’s list thoroughly canvassed, as well 
as all data which have accumulated since, and the whole reduced to such 
statements as indicate clearly the limits of our knowledge in regard to the 
form under consideration. All specimens about which there could be any 
doubt were sent to authorities east for exact determination. Those species 
that have been previously reported from Nebraska but the right of whichtoa 
place in our fauna is questioned or denied have been introduced, but in brack- 
ets. There have also been added under the phrase ‘‘extralimital’”’ those 
species which may possibly be found in the state in the future. 
This introduction of extralimital forms and their inclusion in the synopses 
has been thought desirable for the reason that many of them are almost 
sure to be found sooner or later, and this calling attention to them may 
result in their earlier detection and addition to our list. The aim has been 
to prepare a work which should not only reflect the present state of our 
knowledge, but at the same time be a new basis for future work. For the 
same reason all species which are known definitely to have bred within our 
limits are marked with an asterisk. It will be evident to the reader that 
the addition of the figures showing the details of bird structure and the 
article on Birds in relation to Agriculture and Horticulture, as well as of the 
synopses themselves, is in order that the paper may be useful to any one, 
wkether an ornithologist or not, and may be the means of further increasing 
