xviii PLAN OF THE WORK 
end of its bill to the tip of its longest tail-feather. The length of the 
wing (= W.) is the distance from the “bend of the wing” to the end of 
the longest primary. The length of the tail (= T.) is the distance from 
the base, or insertion of the middle feathers, to the end of the longest 
feather. The length of the tarsus (= Tar.) is the distance from the 
base, or insertion of the toes, to the end of the tibia, or what in reality 
is the heel. The ‘tarsus’ is therefore the true foot of the bird, while 
the part to which this name is generally applied consists only of the. 
toes. The length of the bill (= B.), or “culmen,” is the distance from 
the base of the feathers on the forehead to the tip of the upper mandible 
in a straight line. With the exception of total length, these measure- 
ments are generally taken with a pair of dividers. 
Range.—The paragraphs under this heading are taken from the 
“Check-List” (third edition, 1910) of the American Ornithologists’ 
Union. In some few instances I have abridged, and in others expanded 
or emended the original. Based primarily on the unexampled series of 
records on file in the Biological Survey of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, these outlines of distribution are more accurate 
and detailed than any we have before had of North American birds. 
Following the paragraphs on range are exact, concise statements 
of the birds’ status, manner and times of occurrence, at various local- 
ities from the District of Columbia northward to Cambridge, Mass., 
and thence westward to southeastern Minnesota. Each locality is 
treated by a recognized authority, from notes based on observations 
extending over many years. The statement in italics in the first edition 
of the “Handbook,” that the dates given represent the ‘‘usuwal times 
of migration” appears, by some readers, to have been overlooked. It 
may be well, therefore, to emphasize it here. 
The data from Washington, D. C., were supplied by Dr. C. W. Rich- 
mond of the United States National Museum. Not only has Dr. Rich- 
mond had a prolonged personal experience in this field, but he has had 
access to the notes of other local ornithologists. 
The water birds of Long Island are treated by William Dutcher, 
who for years made our coast birds a subject of special investigation. 
Sportsmen, lighthouse keepers, and ornithologists have all contributed 
to his splendid series of notes on the movements of waterfowl and bay 
birds. In more recent years, Mr. Dutcher’s work has been continued 
by Dr. W. C. Braislin, from whose paper on the Birds of Long Island 
(Abst. Proc. Linnean Society, Nos. 17-19, 1904~7) I have supple- 
mented or emended Mr. Dutcher’s notes. 
Dr. A. K. Fisher supplied the notes from Ossining, New York. This 
locality formed the field of his ornithological labors for fifteen years. 
Within the limits of the town of Ossining, he has observed no less than 
236 species of birds. I doubt if any other one person in northeastern 
America has recorded so large a number from so small an area. 
Cambridge, Massachusetts, is historic ground in the annals of 
ornithology. From the time of Nuttall, its bird-life has been studied 
