Excerpt from Bird-Life: A Guide to the Study of Our Common Birds How unusual it is to meet any one who can correctly name a dozen of our birds! One may live in the country A and still know only two or three of the one hundred and fifty or more kinds of birds that may be found during the year. Nevertheless, these gay, restless creatures, both by voice and action, constantly invite our attention, and they are far too interesting and beautiful to be ignored. No one to whom Nature appeals should be without some knowledge of these, the most attractive of her animate forms. The scientific results to be derived from the study of birds are fully realized by the naturalist. But there are other results equally important. I would have every one know of them: results that add to our pleasure in field and wood, and give fresh interest to walks that before were eventless; that quicken both ear and eye, making us hear and see where before we were deaf and blind. Then, to our surprise, we shall discover that the forests and pastures we have known all our lives are tenanted by countless feathered inhabitants whose companionship will prove a source of endless enjoyment. I would enter a special plea for the study of birds in the schools; for the more general introduction of ornithology in natural-history courses. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.