XX IN rRODUCTORY 
unable to gain satisfactory evidence of their doing s0. 
Neither have I listed the birds which are now extinct as 
breeding within our area; of these I shall refer to else- 
where. The half-tones are from photographs taken from 
nature, by the author and his ornithological friends. 
During this long period of field work I have had as a 
helpmate and advisor, my father, H. B. Bailey, whose 
knowledge and interest in birds has been the main factor 
in my advancement along this line. 
By turning to the map, one will readily see that I have 
drawn a line from the southern boundary line to the 
northern boundary line across our State, and about one 
hundred and twenty miles from the seacoast at the widest 
point. This area I have designated Tidewater Virginia, 
and it lies in longitude 3614° to 38°, latitude 7514° to 
7714°. The tides in the rivers, however, rise and fall 
much further inland than this point. Climatic conditions, 
as well as the flora and altitude, commence to change 
rapidly from near this line as we go westward, while this 
seems to be nearly the dividing line between our breed- 
ing coastal species and those of higher zones. The islands 
off our coast and from Cape Henry southward, are mostly 
low, sandy stretches, the highest point probably not being 
over twenty-five feet above sea level, while in the middle 
of many of these islands are low, swampy sloughs and 
marsh land. On the seaward side one finds high sand 
dunes and hard beaches, while on the inward side are wide 
expanses of low marsh, and broad bays and creeks between 
them and the mainland. From Cape Henry southward, 
one finds a narrow strip of sandy beach, with marshes, 
swamp land, and Back Bay between it and the mainland. 
The altitude of the area on the mainland west of the 
Chesapeake Bay is probably at no point over one hundred 
feet above sea level; thus all this area is in the Lower 
