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 with 

 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 



