PREFACE 



This volume is in reality but an extension of, an enlarge- 

 ment upon and a combining of the "show me" properties 

 of "Bird Guide — Land Birds" and "Bird Guide — Water 

 Birds." The kind reception and enormous sale of these 

 smaller books have fully justified my belief that a good, ac- 

 curate illustration is worth pages of text for conveying an idea 

 of the appearance of a bird or for identifying one seen in 

 the field. 



My schooling in this line was gained in the time when an 

 occasional inaccurate woodcut served only to relieve the 

 monotony of the solid pages of text. In those days the birds 

 were "collected" and, with the specimen in hand, it required 

 only time to discover what it was, from the pages of the old 

 reliable "Coues' Key." Birds were more plentiful then and 

 bird students comparatively few. Obviously such methods 

 are impossible now when the birds are fewer and students 

 numbered by the hundreds of thousands. 



A good pair of bird glasses and a good book will enable 

 the bird student now to see and identify hundreds of species, 

 and that without harming the creatures in the least. In fact, 

 several enthusiasts have written me that they became so 

 familiar with the birds by means of pictures that upon visit- 

 ing new localities and seeing new birds they were able to cor- 

 rectly name nearly all at first sight without referring to a 

 book. 



Bird study is not a fad. It is a recreation and a most 

 useful one. Its importance is shown by the fact that it is one 

 of the requirements of teachers in nearly all states. I have 

 endeavored in this volume to incorporate that which will 

 serve the most to the best advantage, omitting nothing that 



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