XVM INTRODUCTION. 
the lower. In the distance it resembles a Cardinal, and is often confounded by the 
ignorant with that bird. In Texas the boys know it only by the name of “Cardinal 
without a crest.” Both our Tanagers have a loud Thrush-like song, resembling in 
volume and loudness the Robin’s. Among the beauties of the northern woodlands, 
usually in the same places where the Scarlet Tanager chooses its home, the jaunty 
Towhee, or Chewink, nicely dressed in black, white, and chestnut, and the elegant Rose- 
breasted Grosbeak, famous for brilliancy, both in color and song, are my special favorites 
among the minstrels of our northern woodland scenery. The Purple Finch, the Cedar- 
bird, the Goldfinch, the Yellow Warbler of our gardens rank among our birds of beauty, 
while the Catbird, the Robin, the Song Sparrow and Chippy, and the Vireos of the 
garden shrubbery and ornamental trees are very pretty. The meadows of the North, 
adorned with lilies and other pretty flowers, are the home of numerous Bobolinks. The 
males in their jaunty attire of black, creamy and white, bubbling over with exhilera- 
tion, rivalling each other in thousand extravagancies, are always seen in the air or on 
fences and the tops of weeds. The Meadow Lark is often the Bobolink’s neighbor. It is 
also a fine song bird and dressed in fine colors. The Red-winged Blackbird of the 
‘Swamps and marshes may also be counted among our birds of beauty, its vermilion-red 
wing-patches contrasting finely with the deep shining black of the rest of the body. 
All our Hummingbirds are beautiful creatures. ‘These jewelled feathers are so precious 
that with all the boundless wealth of nature economy must be practiced in the use of 
such materials; which is one reason why the Hummingbird is so diminutive a creature.” 
The bird and its haunts belong always together. This is the reason why I have so 
frequently made the attempt in this work, to depict the surroundings of our birds. The 
haunts of the birds, the trees and bushes and flowers, the water, the rocks, the flower- 
adorned meadows, and even the sky increase the beauty of their colors. A Humming- 
bird, skimming and darting from flower to flower, is a much more interesting object 
than one perched quietly on a pole. The Cardinal in the holly thickets, the Bobolink 
over the waving grass, the Redwing among the sedges, the Catbird in the twining 
‘honey-suckles, the Swallow in the air, the Phoebe on the top of the barn roof, the Robin 
in the top of a high tree, the Bluebird flying from one stump or tree to another, are all 
striking objects. They belong to their surroundings, imbueing them with life and 
happiness. 
Since my early boyhood the exquisite Baltimore Oriole is associated in my mind 
with the high and spreading elms of my native State Wisconsin. Wherever the oppor- 
tunity is favorable this bird, famous alike for its flash.of color, its assiduity in singing, 
and its architectural ability, selects the magnificent elms in the lowlands, on the wood- 
land border, and even in the proximity of houses, for its home. 
Our Warblers are all clad in variegated colors—always pretty and tasteful, and 
- often strikingly brilliant. The true Wood Warblers (Dendroica) are the most attractive 
of our songsters to every lover of bird life for their own sakes—‘‘to everyone who 
delights in those esthetic emotions which the interpretation of bird life never fails to 
excite.” The Blackburnian Warbler is the most richly colored of all the members of the 
family. An intense orange on crown, eyelids, throat, and breast is relieved by a deep 
black and white on the rest of the body. The Magnolia Warbler is a dainty little bird, 
