viii INTRODUCTION. 



The illustrations are by Mr. Edwin Sheppard, of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia ; and the scientific titles are 

 those adopted by the American Ornithologists' Union, and pub- 

 lished in its Check List, 1886. 



I have thought that a book which included those birds only 

 in which gunners and sportsmen are interested — pictures of the 

 different species and plumages, descriptions in plain English, 

 full lists of common names, as well as book-names — would, if 

 decently constructed, be a peculiarly intelligible book of refer- 

 ence for those who go gunning. A good picture is worth more 

 for the purpose of identification than all the descriptions ever 

 written, and a picture in simple black and white is in many cases 

 more useful than a colored one, that is to say, for birds whose 

 plumages are entirely different at different seasons, and whose 

 markings and colors necessarily pass through so many inter- 

 mediate stages. It should be always borne in mind that a bird 

 does not change its plumage as a snake does its skin ; that it is 

 impossible to describe each and every variation, and that it is 

 better to leave a great deal to the intelligence of the reader, 

 than to run the risk of hopelessly confusing him by too much 

 detail. 



Many will be surprised at the large number of names col- 

 lected, and some will doubtless wonder why I have omitted this 

 or that name very familiar to themselves. I certainly cannot 

 hope to have gathered all the names of any species, but I feel 

 that I have been a little more than ordinarily careful to keep the 

 lists free from error as far as they go. 



I here thank collectively the Eastern gunners who have 

 helped me with material for this work, particularly those living 

 by the Great Lakes, and along our Atlantic coast, with whom I 

 have spent so much time, and formed so many pleasant friend- 

 ships during the past four years. 



