PREFACE 



THESE pages are written, not only for the bird- 

 lover, but also for the general reader who has no 

 special interest in birds, but who is interested in 

 those matters that pertain to community welfare. 



Most of the topics presented in this book have 

 been treated in an entertaining way in many excel- 

 lent bird books, but most of these books cover only 

 one or two phases of bird life, so that a person de- 

 siring to be generally informed on birds must secure 

 several books. The bird enthusiast is glad to do this, 

 but not the average citizen, who has no more inter- 

 est in birds than in many other topics. It is highly 

 desirable that every citizen should be informed on 

 the need of conserving bird life as one of our valu- 

 able national resources. It has been the purpose of 

 the author to gather within one set of covers a brief 

 discussion of the essential facts concerning bird life 

 that are of general interest, which are now scattered 

 through many books, bulletins, and magazines. 



One of the most interesting developments of the 

 past few years has been the rapid strides made in 

 the cause of bird-protection. Much of this work has 

 been of such recent origin that information regard- 



