A CHART OF BIRD LIFE 251 
of land and water is divided between the various Orders of 
North American birds, just as we find them in Nature. By 
a fortunate coincidence the Orders that are lowest in the scale 
of natural classification are those containing the sea birds, 
of deep water, which therefore belong at the bottom of the 
chart. On the other hand, the birds that are highest in the 
zoological scale—the perching birds—are also the birds of 
the tree-tops, and must be placed at the top of the chart. 
The birds of the shore, the river bank and the uplands 
have their respective areas in the middle portion of the scale, 
and we are thus enabled to see almost at a glance the geog- 
raphy of the bird world, at least as we find it in North 
America. 
Beginning with the highest, we shall endeavor to point 
out the leading characters of the various Orders, and the 
examples which best represent them. Just at present, how- 
ever, it is not wise for the reader to go too far into the sub- 
divisions of the Orders, and only the most important Families 
will be mentioned by name. 
Any reader who is unwilling to devote a few hours to 
learning the names and places of the various orders of birds 
may as well refrain from attempting to know our feathered 
friends; for that knowledge is quite as necessary as founda- 
tion stones are to a tall building. The names of the Orders 
must be learned, and remembered! For the purpose of making 
the contents of each Order familiar to the reader, representa- 
tives of the most important Families it contains will be men- 
tioned, and illustrated by the presentation of at least one 
species. 
