4 G. H. Merriam — Birds of Connecticut. 



My thanks are esjjecially due to W. W. Coe, John H. Sage, Erwin 

 I. Sliores, Thomas B. Osborne, Capt. O. N. Brooks, and the Stadt- 

 miiller Brothers, for placing their mauiiscript notes at my disposal ; 

 also, to Professors A. E. Veri-ill, Sidney I. Smith, and Franklin 

 B. Dexter, for the use of books not in the College Library ; and 

 to Dr. William H. Hotchkiss for aid in the preparation of the special 

 lists appended to this paper, as well as for much kindly assistance 

 rendered from time to time during the progress of the work. 



Numerous references have been made to the wi'itings of others, 

 and I hold myself I'esponsible for all dates and statements of any 

 kind, where the contrary is not expressly stated. Neither have 

 quotations l)een omitted, when they seemed desirable, either for the 

 value of the facts they contain, or for their antiquity ; and, as a 

 rule, I have taken i)ains to refer to the older and less accessible 

 works, rather than to those with which we are all familiar. 



Although Ornithology, as a science, is, in this country, of compara- 

 tively recent date, still that the birds of New England early attracted 

 the attention of our foi-efathers is evident from their writings. In 

 the year 1616, Capt. John Smith said that there were, in New Eng- 

 land, " Eagles, Gripes, diners sorts of Ilaukes, Cranes, Geese, Brauts, 

 Cormorants, Ducks, Sheldrakes, Teale, Meawes, Guls, Turkies, Diue- 

 doppers, and many other sorts, whose names I knowe not."* And a 

 few years later (1622) one William Hilton writes that the land 

 " aff cords beasts of diners sorts, and great flocks of Turkies, Quailes 

 Pigeo7is and Patriges: many great lakes abounding icithflsh, fowls, 

 Beuers and Otters. The sea affoords us as great plenty of all excellent 

 sorts of sea-fish, as the riuers and lies doth varietie of loild fovole of 

 most vseful sorts.''^\ And there are numerous others of a like nature, 

 some of which have been reproduced under the species to which they 

 refer. 



It is worthy of note that many birds once common along the coast, 

 and some throughout tlie greater part of New England, are now 

 either extremely rare or not to be met with at all within its limits, 

 while a few sj)ecies have unquestionably increased in numbers since 

 the country has become settled. Among the former class may be 

 mentioned the Great Auk {^ilca iinj^ennis), the Crane {Grus Gana- 

 densis, awd perhaps G.Americana also), the Swan (Gygnus Ameri- 

 canns, and perha])s G. buccinator), the Wild Turkey (Melcagris gallo- 

 pavo), the Pinnated Grouse or Prairie Chicken {Gujndonia cicpido), 



* A Description of New England, by Capt. John Smith, p. IG. 1616. 

 t New England's Trials, p. 14. 1622. 



