4 PLAN OF THE WORK 



Cooke of the Biological Survey. For the past twenty years orni- 

 thologists throughout the country have been sending data on bird 

 migration to the Survey. In the preparation of Bulletin No. i8 of the 

 Survey ('Distribution and Migration of North American Warblers'), 

 it was Professor Cooke's duty to elaborate this unequalled store of 

 migration records, and the matter here given is based on that work, 

 the migration records being presented in a tabular form which makes 

 them easy of reference and comparison. 



The Bird and its Haunts. — Under this heading an attempt has 

 been made to present a picture of the bird in nature; sketching its 

 appearance and actions as well as describing its haunts, both while 

 migrating and nesting. Here are also occasionally included remarks 

 on the time, place, or manner of the discovery of the bird or its nest 

 and eggs, with other pertinent historical details, and, in some 

 instances, biographical data which seem more in place here than in 

 any other section of the outline for treatment adopted. 



Especially valuable contributions to this department were made 

 by Gerald Thayer, Frank L. Burns, Verdi Burtch, Walter K. Fisher, 

 and Andrew Allison. 



Song. — Under this caption the call-notes as well as the songs of 

 Warblers are treated. Always a difficult and unsatisfactory subject 

 to deal with, it is particularly so in the case of the Warblers, the 

 calls and songs of most of which lack sufficient character to be des- 

 cribed recognizably. However, the impressions of different observers 

 in widely separated localities are presented, not with the expectation 

 that what they have written will give one an adequate idea of the 

 particular song in question, but that it will lead to its identification 

 when heard. 



Miss Paddock, Mrs. Farwell, Gerald Thayer, and Andrew Allison 

 have made notable contributions to this part of the book, and 

 Lynds Jones has permitted liberal use of his 'Songs of Warblers'. 

 The student should also consult Matthews' 'Fieldbook of Wild Birds 

 and their Music' (Putnams) which being readily procurable has not 

 been quoted from. 



Nesting-Site and Nest. — The method of treatment of these 

 sections requires but little comment. The abundant literature of the 

 ?ubjec) has been freely drawn on, reference showing the source oi 

 information. The collections of the American Museum, William 

 Brewster, and C. W. Crandall have been used, while particularly 

 acceptable manuscript contributions were made by Andrew Allison, 

 Frank L. Burns, and Verdi Burtch. 



