ENE ROD CTORY 
ALIFORNIA is the land of sunshine, flowers, 
and bird song. In the great sweep of country 
from Mexico on the south to Oregon on the north 
are found climatic conditions ranging from the Arctic 
circle to the tropics. The valleys blossom with roses, 
while the mountains are crowned with perpetual 
snow. Hence we find a flora and fauna as unique 
as the climate. It is the paradise of the bird-lover 
as well as of the tourist. Birds of the Torrid Zone 
come here; birds of Alaska winter here: birds from 
the mountains come down into the valleys. There 
is a constant movement north and south, a lesser 
one vertically from the warm lowlands to the colder 
altitudes, or vice versa. 
To live among these fascinating feathered folk 
and not long to know them, one must have eyes that 
see not and ears deaf to Nature’s music. Yet the 
bird-lover who wishes to enjoy an acquaintance with 
them without scientific study finds his road beset with 
difficulties. From the scientific works that seem to 
him hopelessly abstruse he turns to the “ popular ” bird 
book, which is delightful but does not help him to 
