16 
INTRODUCTION 
ously assumed north and south movements. The irregular dribble of 
European Widgeon along our Atlantic coast is found to originate in Iceland 
and not in America as was beginning to be suspected. Common Tern raised 
on our east coast have been found in winter scattered on both sides of the 
south Atlantic from the River Niger in Africa to the Amazon in South 
America and the Arctic Tern is shown to cross to Europe on its way south 
to the Antarctic. These and many other difficult questions are gradually 
finding their answers by this new method of study. 
A serious word should be said on the much discussed question of the 
collection of specimens as a method of bird study. Various persons take 
various interests in bird study. Some are satisfied just to see or hear 
birds about them, and take little interest in what they are, what they do, 
or what they are named. At the other extreme are those who are unsatisfied 
until they know all about the objects of their admiration and interest, 
and have pried into the innermost secrets of their relationships, habits, 
and economy. Between these extremes are every degree and combination 
of aesthetic and scientific interest. It is not necessary for all to become 
highly developed scientific ornithologists, but every art or science requires 
a certain leaven of experts to direct the amateur, assist him with short-cuts, 
and present conclusions that he may not be qualified or inclined to discover 
for himself. Equally necessary is it to healthful development of any such 
line of inquiry that there be these experts and specialists to set, by example, 
standards of excellence and method. This is as true in ornithology as it is 
in art, athletics, or stock raising. Considerable aesthetic pleasure and some 
information can be obtained by merely watching birds in life, more can be 
obtained by use of field glasses and systematic study, but it is no more 
possible for one to obtain accurate and comprehensive knowledge of birds 
than of plants or insects without collecting or at least handling specimens. 
It would be impossible for anyone to write such a book as this without 
constant access to complete or extensive series of specimens. Scientific 
ornithologists are necessary, but they cannot be developed without con- 
ceding them the right to collect and study at first hand the material through 
which they can develop. That such a right cannot be distributed too 
freely is obvious. In consequence, for collecting in Canada for scientific 
purposes, birds covered by the Migratory Birds Convention Act, a permit 
from the Canadian National Parks Branch of the Department of the 
Interior is necessary. These permits are granted to applicants who show 
that they are sincere and bona fide bird students, qualified to make proper 
use of them. The spirit in which these permits are issued and the guards 
against their abuse are well shown by the following “principles” that are 
attached to and form a part of them. 
PERMIT PRINCIPLES 
Permits to take migratory birds, their nests and eggs, under the 
Migratory Birds Convention Act and Regulations, are granted for the sole 
purpose of scientific study and not for the collection of objects of curiosity 
or personal or household adornment. Therefore, only such persons as 
take a serious interest in ornithology, and are competent to exercise the 
privilege for the advancement of knowledge, are eligible to receive such 
permits. 
