ON BII^DS AND BIP^D MATTERS. 



BY THOMAS MCILWRAITH. 



Although the subjects brought before the Association during 

 the present session have been both numerous and varied, it is some- 

 what remarkable that no branch of the animal kingdom has yet 

 come up for consideration. With the view of introducing this 

 department of Natural History, and thinking that it might be a 

 pleasing change for you to pass from the consideration of sewage 

 and other unsavory, though all important subjects, which have 

 recently engaged your attention, T have availed myself of the oppor- 

 tunity offered, of asking you to spend an hour with me among the 

 birds. The subject is a very attractive one, the objects which it 

 embraces being always near us, varied in form, beautiful in color, 

 and possessed of the most wonderful instincts, to mark the exercise 

 of which is a continual source of delight. 



A treatise on Ornithology, in the highest meaning of the term, 

 is beyond the scope of this paper, as it would require us to go back 

 half-way through the geological periods, where we would find the 

 early forms of bird life very different from those we see around us 

 at present. 



It is not my purpose to follow the subject in this direction, nor 

 to attempt giving you a highly scientific dissertation, made unintelli- 

 gible by the use of unpronounceable technicalities. I would much 



