A First Glance at the Birds. 



trust that enough interest may be 

 aroused to stimulate an enthusiasm 

 which may grow into a genuine acquaint- 

 ance. 



There is something about the bird 

 which appeals to everyone — its light- 

 ness and freedom from constraint, its 

 power and its grace. It charms us with 

 its song, and its plumage is a delight to 

 the eye. There is an almost human at- 

 mosphere about the home life of the 

 nest. What can surpass the devotion 

 of the mother bird for her little ones ? 

 But with all our instinctive love for 

 these precious waifs of the woodland 

 and sea, we take little pains either to 

 know them or to protect them. The 

 confines of California harbor several 

 hundred species, of which some half 

 dozen are popularly and inaccurately 

 known, while in every town within our 

 limits are found the two most persistent 

 and destructive enemies which our bird 

 neighbors know — the small boy with 

 his gun and ^^^ collection, and the 



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