INTRODUCTION 
The number of people who are trying to accom- 
plish something in this good work in America is 
greater now than ever before, and the promise of good 
results is brighter than it has been. On the other 
hand, in many sections the stock of native birds is 
pitifully reduced, so that while once the only per- 
sons who used the shotgun were the field shooters, 
to-day the number of men who shoot afield is small 
by comparison with those who use the shotgun at clay 
targets thrown into the air from a trap. 
The good sportsman—good in the sense of being 
devoted to the ethics of sport, and in the sense of being 
successful in his pursuit of game—wishes to know all 
he can about the life ways of the beautiful birds that 
he seeks for, and in getting together the material for 
this book I have endeavored to keep this fact con- 
stantly in mind. 
Xvili 
