4 BIRDS OP ILLINOIS. 



or partially devoted to a continuation of investigations at the same 

 place. The summer of 1865 was passed at Olney, Eichland county, 

 where several birds not observed at Mount Carmel were discovered ; 

 while subsequent visits to the same place, including several trips 

 to the neighboring prairies, have further increased his knowledge of 

 the bird-life of that locality. 



Without the aid furnished by the collections above referred to, 

 and the assistance kindly rendered by several gentlemen who have 

 been making a special study of the birds of their respective neigh- 

 borhoods, this catalogue would of necessity have been a purely 

 local one. Mr. H. K. Coale, of Chicago, has most generously placed 

 his note-books, full of valuable records, at the author's disposal, 

 while Mr. Chas. K. Worthen has contributed many important notes ; 

 so that, with help from so many sources, together with various 

 local lists, and other publications 1 on the birds of Illinois, it has 

 been possible to prepare a tolerably full list of the birds of the 

 State at large. Much remains to be done, however, especially in 

 the western and extreme southern counties, which are certain to 

 produce important and perhaps unlocked for additions.* 



The author has endeavored to make the work as original as the 

 circumstances would allow; but on account of the limited time 

 allotted for its completion (one year), and being mainly occupied 

 with other duties, he has found it necessary to draw, to a certain 

 extent, upon previous publications. Thus, for the land-birds, many 

 of the generic diagnoses have been taken from the History of North 

 American Birds, 1 while for the water-birds the descriptions have 

 been copied from The Water Birds of North America.* In every 

 case, however, matter which is not original with the present work 

 is enclosed in quotation marks, and the source whence obtained 

 explicitly stated. It may further be explained that the author has 

 the permission of the publishers to make extracts, at his discretion. 



1 A partial bibliography of Illinois ornithology is given on pages 36-42. 



*The author at first intended to give an Appendix including descriptions of species 

 which may in time be found within the borders of the State, to aid the collector or inves- 

 tigator in identifying any species which may not appear in the catalogue proper; but the 

 idea had to be abandoned on account of the necessity of limiting the number of pages of 

 this work. 



> A History of North American Birds, by 8. F. Baird, T. M. Brewer and B. Bidgway. 

 Land Birds. Illustrated by 64 colored plates and 593 wood cuts. (Volume I, pp. i-xxviii, 

 1-596, i-vi, plates i-xxvi. Volume II, 3 p. 11. pp. 1-590, i-vi, plates xxvii-lvi. Volume III. 3 p. 

 11. pp. 1-560, 1 1., i-xxviii, plates Ivii-lxiv.) Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1874. 



* Memoirs of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. Vol. XLT. 

 The Water Birds of North America, by 8. F. Baird. T. M. Brewer and R. Bidgway. Issued 

 in continuation of the publications of the Geological Survey of California. J. D. Whitney, 

 State Geologist (Volume I, pp. i-xi, 1-637. VoL II, pp. 1-552). [Boston: Little, Brown an 3 

 Company, 1884 



