FLORIDA BIRD-LIFE 

 INTRODUCTORY 



From the time of Catesby, in 1730, Florida has been the 

 Mecca of American ornithologists. Bartram, Ord, Audu- 

 bon, Bryant, Allen, Merriam, Maynard, Scott, Brewster, 

 Ridgway and scores of other bird students have been at- 

 tracted by the bird-life of a region, which, not only far 

 exceeded in interest that of any other part of our country, 

 but in some respects was possibly not equalled by that of 

 any other part of the world. 



As compared with that of other states, the bird-life of 

 Florida is distinguished first, by the occurrence of certain 

 West Indian species ; second, by the evolution of certain 

 strongly marked geographical races or nascent species; 

 third, by the continued existence there of species which have 

 become rare or extinct in other parts of North America ; 

 fourth, by the presence of several western birds not found 

 elsewhere on the Atlantic Coast, and fifth, by the great de- 

 velopment of those communal gatherings of birds in what 

 are generally termed " rookeries." 



As a result of its geographical position, fifteen West 

 Indian or tropical species have been recorded from Florida, 

 only one of which is found regularly beyond the southern 

 part of the state ; most of them, in fact, being summer vis- 

 itants to the Keys. Of the number named three have been 

 found in Florida but once or twice. On the whole, therefore, 

 the West Indian element in Florida's bird-life is smaller 

 than the proximity of the state to certain West Indian isl- 

 ands might lead one to expect. The Biminis in the Bahamas, 

 for example, are only forty miles from Cape Florida ; never- 

 theless such characteristic Bahama birds as the Grassquits 



