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DEC 20 1939 



INTRODUCTION 



THE matter contained in this work is taken from the 

 two volumes of the Argentine Ornithology, published 

 in 1888-9, an d was my first book on the subject of 

 bird life. The late Philip Lutley Sclater, who was 

 at that time the chief authority in this country on 

 South American Ornithology, collaborated with me 

 in the work to the extent of arranging the material 

 in accordance with the most popular system of classi- 

 fication, and also adding descriptions, synonymy, etc., 

 of the species unknown to me. All this matter 

 which he contributed in order to make the work 

 a complete list, I have thrown out, along with the 

 synonymy of the species described by me. And 

 there was good reason for this simplification, seeing 

 that we cannot have a complete list owing to the fact 

 that fresh species are continually being added to 

 it by the collectors ; these species, new to the list, 

 being mostly intruders or visitors found on the sub- 

 tropical northern limits of the country. The original 

 work (Argentine Ornithology) was thus out of date 

 as soon as published, and the only interest it still 

 retains for the reader is in the account of the birds' 

 habits contributed by me. The work thus being no 

 longer what it was, or was intended to be, a different 

 title had to be found, and I cannot think of a more 

 suitable one than The Birds of La Plata, which 



