INTRODUCTION 
T his volume on Alaskan Bird-Life has been prepared 
for free distribution among the people of Alaska. 
This has been done in pursuance of the established 
policy of this Association to seek, by all available measures, 
to cultivate on the part of the general American public a 
better appreciation of the value to mankind of our wild 
birds and animals. 
In offering this account of bird-life in Alaska, we 
have attempted to furnish a general sketch of the subject, 
rather than a scientific treatise. The greatest care has been 
taken as to accuracy. All of the writers whose contrib¬ 
utions are here combined, and given a certain uniformity, 
are men of recognized authority in their subject. The 
purpose primarily in view, however, is educational; to give 
those who have an interest in the animal life of their 
country additional knowledge, and to attract to the subject 
the attention of those who, largely from lack of inform¬ 
ation, have neglected what others have found to be a most 
delightful study. 
The mere enjoyment derived from knowing the birds, 
recognizing them by name, and observing the varying 
characteristics and habits of the different local groups and 
species, offers a satisfactory inducement for study, and is an 
adequate reward, increasing as knowledge progresses. This 
alone might well be a sufficient reason for publishing and 
distributing a book of this kind. The Association and the 
Government have had, however, an additional, and perhaps an 
even higher purpose in view, namely, to teach the people of 
Alaska, and especially the boys and girls there, to under¬ 
stand and appreciate the very important place which the 
birds of this country—or of any country—occupy in the 
list of national assets. 
To impress this truth on the minds of the American 
people, to teach those who are ignorant and encourage 
those who are wise, and to form and enforce legislation 
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