22 INTRODUCTION. 



tened, of single or united rings ; and sometimes, as in Ducks 

 and Mergansers, there is connected with it, in the males, a 

 curious bony and membranous expansion, the use of which 

 is not apparent. 



But the details of the organization of birds do not require 

 to be further entered into here, where the object is not to 

 present a treatise on that subject, but to afford the explana- 

 tions necessary for the occasion. The careful dissection of 

 a few species will afford a more correct idea than could be 

 given by mere description. 



With a little of this sort of knowledge, and an acquaint- 

 ance with technicalities, the student who has some enthusiasm 

 may derive much pleasure from the observation of birds. 

 Should he connect these objects of his pursuit with the va- 

 rious natural objects and phenomena with which he finds 

 them associated, he has little chance of becoming a mere 

 collector of skins and eggs. Such persons, confining their 

 views to the most superficial aspect of nature, are more to 

 be pitied than praised. Yet even they derive pleasure from 

 their pursuits ; for who can contemplate nature in any way 

 without being gratified ? The cultivators of every branch 

 of Natural History are full of its praises ; and surely for 

 this enthusiasm no one ought to blame them, were it not that 

 frequently he whose affections are engaged by one set of ob- 

 jects, despises not only all other objects, but also those who 

 admire them more than they admire his own favourites. 



The method which I would recommend to a person desi- 

 rous of becoming acquainted with the birds of this country, 

 is somewhat different from that usually pursued. Let him 

 begin with obtaining a dead bird of any kind a partridge 

 or gull, for example. Let him examine its exterior, passing 

 in review the bill, the nostrils, the eyes, the apertures of the 

 ears ; the tarsi, toes, and nails ; the plumage in detail ; the 

 wings, and the tail. Let him pull out a feather here and 

 there ; examine its tube, shaft, and filaments ; compare the 

 extent of the downy part with that of the more compact ter- 



