PREFACE. 



Much of the matter contained in the following pages was written 

 in the tield and covers a period of some ten winters in Florida, a 

 great deal of the time being passed in out-of-the-way localities while 

 studying the fauna of the State. The illustrations are, with few 

 exceptions, from photographs taken by myself: the principal ex- 

 ceptions being the photographs of the tarpon, which were obtained 

 through the kindness of Mr. George Mixter, of Boston. The picture 

 of the manatee and the illustrations in the " Key to the Water Birds " 

 are the work of Mr. Edward Knobel, of Boston. 



The nomenclature and classification used in the Key is that 

 adopted bv the American Ornithologists' Union. 



I have aimed to make the " Key to the Water Birds " one 

 which would enable a person unfamiliar with birds to identify any 

 Florida species without difficulty. Before using the key the reader 

 should carefully read the " Introduction to the Kev "' and make him- 

 self familiar with the terms used in describing birds : the general 

 rules for measurements, etc. 



With few exceptions, the species given have been taken or ob- 

 served by myself during ni}' various trips to Florida, but several are 

 included on the authority' of others, and I have freely availed myself 

 of information obtained from the following works and papers : — 



" History of North American Birds, " by Baird, Brewer, and 

 Ridgway : " Manual of North American Birds," bv Robert Ridg- 

 way ; " Key to North American Birds," by Elliot Cones; " Birds of 

 Eastern North America," by C. J. Maynard : " Handbook of the Birds 

 of Eastern North America," by F. M. Chapman: "Notes on the 

 Birds of the Caloosahatchee Region of Florida," bv W. E. D. Scott 

 (Auk Vol. IX., pp. 209-218). 



