iii - 



t.a. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT 



To Mr. William L. Langer, whose knowledge of languages and bibliography- 

 has been indispensable, I owe a lasting debt for many summers of faithful 

 work. Major Allan Brooks and Louis Agassiz Fuertes have given much 

 time and thought to their drawings and have helped me with their gen- 

 eral knowledge of the Duck Tribe. Dr. Glover M. Allen has devoted val- 

 uable time to checking references, and his advice has served to smooth 

 out many wrinkles. To Frank W. Benson, who has done so much in 

 teaching us the decorative value of water-fowl, I owe the frontispiece of this 

 first volume. Lastly I must say a word for the patient and painstaking 

 manner in which many naturalists and sportsmen have answered hun- 

 dreds of long and tedious letters. 



John C. Phillips 



Wenham, Massachusetts 

 November, 1922 



