6 INTRODUCTION 



and no distinction was made between the terms sports- 

 man and sporting-man. Such puritanical notions no 

 longer prevail. Sportsmanship is now fashionable. 

 The sportsman of to-day no longer slips out the back 

 way, but travels more often in a luxurious railway car, 

 especially constructed for his comfort and convenience. 

 Thousands annally go to the domain of the sage-cock, 

 the sharp-tailed grouse, and the plumed and crested 

 partridges. 



No country in the world was so well supplied w^ith 

 feathered game. The largest and most magnificent 

 pheasant in the world (the wild turkey) heads the 

 list. There is a splendid assortment of grouse, includ- 

 ing the second largest grouse in the world, three fine 

 grouse of the open country and five wood-grouse, one 

 of which, the ruffed-grouse, is often called the king of 

 game birds. Bob-white is the best all around par- 

 tridge, and there are five other plumed and crested 

 partridges which rival in beauty those of the Old 

 World. Fourteen shoal-water ducks or dabblers come 

 to the marshes, including the mallard, three teal, the 

 gorgeous wood-duck, the handsomest duck in the 

 world, and the rest, all excellent food-birds. 



The far-famed canvas-back heads the list of twenty- 

 four deep-water or sea ducks, one of which, the pied- 

 duck, formerly abundant in the New York markets, is 

 now unfortunately found only on museum shelves. 

 There are but forty-two specimens in the world. 

 The best of these are in the American Museum of 

 Natural History, New York. We have a fine assort- 

 ment of swans, geese, and brant. Turning to the shore- 

 birds or waders» we find the splendid woodcock and 



