A Bird's-Eye View 



same confession is made by the best authorities 

 concerning the current anatomical groups. 



In devising this scheme for water fowl, my 

 best assurance of the propriety of presenting it 

 to others is the fact that it has been so service- 

 able to myself in affording the easiest and most 

 interesting method of bringing a great variety 

 of species, many of them quite inaccessible to 

 personal study, into distinct, lively, and com- 

 prehensive review. 



According to the scheme, I present the land 

 birds in three main groups — aerial, arboreal, 

 and terrestrial; and the water fowl in six 

 groups — marsh, shore, swimming, diving, swim- 

 ming-aerial, and aerial. This forms a com- 

 plete circle of habitat that is at once apparent 

 from the following chart. As applied to the 

 water birds, the scheme may be expressed in a 

 word, by saying that it is based on the princi- 

 ple of their gradual approach to, and departure 

 from, the water. 



In the great majority of birds, their passage 

 on the wing is only a means to an end ; that is, 

 flight is a practical matter, chiefly a transit, in 

 order to get somewhere. Amid all their activ- 

 ities, and almost incessant motion throughout 

 the day, this fact is clearly evident. But there 



73 



