BIRDS OF 



The birds of North America are understood to be all such as 

 are found north of the Mexican border, and it is quite interesting 

 to look back and observe at what rate the published record of species 

 has increased, as well as the causes which have led to these results. 

 No doubt many of the common species were observed by the early 

 settlers in the country, and while raising their primitive homes with 

 their minds still full of memories of the old land, finding a bird 

 with a red breast coming familiarly near, he would naturally get the 

 name of " Robin " after the familiar " Robin Red Breast " who was 

 so much a favorite at home, but for some such circumstances our 

 Robin might with greater propriety have been called the Red- 

 breasted Thrush. 



In these earlv days the hardy pioneers would have little time to 

 devote to the study of birds, and still less to record the result of such 

 observation, but as the country became better known, and the faci- 

 lities for reaching it were increased, travellers, adventurers, mission- 

 aries and others made frequent visits from foreign countries, and, 

 as usual took home glowing accounts of the natural productions of 

 the new land. Dr Coues, who has made a careful search for 

 records of this description, gives in his new " Key to North 

 American Birds " the names of quite a number of books published 

 between the years 1600 and 1700, in which special reference is 

 made to the birds of the districts visited by the writers. The Natural 

 History of Carolina, Florida, etc., by Mark Catesby, published in 

 parts, is the first in which any definite number of birds is mentioned. 

 It was brought out in 1731, and by taking into account some 

 additional species named in the appendix, the total number is 

 brought up to 113. 



In 1771 J. R. Forster published a tract entitled " A Catalogue 

 of the Animals of North America, " in which he mentions 302 birds, 

 but they are not described, nor even named correctly. 



In 1787, Pennant and Latham followed, the result of whose 

 combined labors was the description of 500 species of American 

 birds. 



About this time Gmelin was busy compiling and transcribing 

 the works of his predecessors, but he did not discover anything new 

 in the connection, and, according to Dr. Coues, it is to Catesby, 



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