8 
INTRODUCTION 
those days bird study was not thought 
of and there were few books in which 
one could look for such knowledge, even 
if he were curious in that direction—as 
few were. But John Burroughs was cu¬ 
rious and he never gave up till he found 
out, though it was twenty years before 
he was able to identify that particular 
bird. His curiosity and persistence are 
among the chief sources of the great 
mass of information that is now at the 
service of everybody. 
In 1863, while Burroughs was teaching 
school near West Point, he saw a copy 
of Audubon’s “Birds of America.” Years 
afterward he wrote, “How eagerly and 
joyously I took up the study! It fitted in 
so well with my country tastes and breed¬ 
ing; it turned my enthusiasm as a sports¬ 
man into a new channel; it gave to my 
walks a new delight; it made me look 
upon every grove and wood as a new 
storehouse of possible treasures.” 
Soon after that he went to Washington 
and while he was waiting for employ¬ 
ment by the government, he wrote his 
first bird essay substantially as it is here 
