FOREWORD 



There has long been a demand for a popular 

 book on the birds of the Canal Zone. Ameri- 

 cans resident in the Zone familiar with their 

 own home birds, wish to make friends with 

 the feathered folk of their new surroundings 

 but hitherto there has been no one volume 

 that would help them to achieve this end. 



During her three year's residence in the 

 Zone Mrs. Sturgis herself experienced this 

 want and after returning to the United 

 States, where material for study was avail- 

 able, she filled it with the present volume. 

 Local variations in the distribution of bird- 

 life often make it impossible to draw the line 

 between species that, regionally, are common 

 and those that are rare. To meet this diffi- 

 culty Mrs. Sturgis has included in her work 

 descriptions of all the birds known from the 

 Zone. Her book, therefore, should be useful 

 to beginners as well as to more advanced 

 students, and it may also assist those who 

 wish general information about tropical 

 American bird life. 



FRANK M. CHAPMAN. 



