A First Glance at the Birds, 



wastes of chaparral, — great expanses of 

 mountain and mesa covered only with a 

 scanty growth of stiff, harsh shrubs, but 

 always beautiful with views of far-away 

 mountains, blue and purple in the haze. 

 It is the land of the orange and the 

 olive, yet its mountain peaks rest in 

 eternal snow. 



In this land I invite you to wander 

 with me, seeking out the birds. If we 

 but look for them we shall find them 

 everywhere. If we but listen for them, 

 the desert as well as the garden shall 

 resound with their songs. It is a great 

 sweep of country from Humboldt to 

 San Diego County, and a large num- 

 ber of birds are found within these limits, 

 so many in fact, that the novice would 

 be quite bewildered should he under- 

 take to inspect them all. However, a 

 beginning must be made, and our feath- 

 ered neighbors must become more pop- 

 ularly known. Let us content ourselves 

 for the present with a few glimpses of 

 the birds in their native haunts, and 



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