EXPLANATORY 



MUCH of the material in this book was written originally 

 as a newspaper serial and was therefore designed to 

 appeal to the general public. In rounding it into shape 

 for a book, supplying the necessary addenda and making much 

 needed revision, the author has still made every effort to avoid 

 as much as possible the use of technical terms, at the same time 

 trying in popular language to be scientifically exact. 

 Nevertheless it has been impossible to avoid certain expressions 

 which are probably unfamiliar to those not acquainted with 

 bird-lore. If the notes and sketches herein shall in any degree 

 entertain the reader and lead him to desire a more intimate 

 knowledge of the birds of this County, it is advised that the 

 book be used in conjunction with an ornithological work in 

 which the author has gone more deeply into technicalities. 



The Field-marks are, in the main, but mere outlines of the 

 birds as we see them in the open, the descriptions of the 

 plumages applying solely to the male in the breeding season 

 except where otherwise indicated; closer analyses of the birds 

 of the East have been prepared and are readily available. 

 Attention is particularly called to the scale of measurement 

 in the plates made from Mr. Richard's drawings. This is 

 found in the flourish line underneath the artist's initials, which 



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