outlines of am. ornithology p iii 
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PREFACE. 
The object of the present volume is to furnish a convenient manual of 
ISTorth American Ornithology, reduced to the smallest possible compass by 
the omission of everything that is not absolutely necessary for determining 
the character of any given specimen. It consists, in considerable part, of 
the analytical and diagnostic tables of the much more elaborate work, the 
“ History of ISTorth American Birds,” by Messrs. Baird, Brewer, and Bidgway, 
although these have been rearranged and somewhat enlarged and improved 
by the introduction of notes on the color of the iris and the character of 
the nesting and eggs of the species. Where any of these features belong 
to all the members of a family, subfamily, or genus, they will be found 
detailed under the appropriate heads ; otherwise they are given, if known, in 
the diagnosis of the species. 
It is hoped that in its present dimensions the “ Outlines of American 
Ornithology ” will serve as a handy book for the sportsman and traveller, as 
well as the resident naturalist, and that all may find it a convenient andu 
satisfactory means of identifying any North American bird in all its varia- 
tions of plumage. 
Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 
January 8, 1874. 
SPENCER F. BAIRD. 
