The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Bird Study Book, by Thomas Gilbert
Pearson, Illustrated by Will Simmons

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Bird Study Book

Author: Thomas Gilbert Pearson

Release Date: April 8, 2007 [eBook #21007]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BIRD STUDY BOOK***

E-text prepared by Al Haines

Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this
file which includes the original illustrations.
See 21007-h.htm or 21007-h.zip:
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/1/0/0/21007/21007-h/21007-h.htm)
or
(http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/2/1/0/0/21007/21007-h.zip)

Transcriber's note:

Page numbers in this book are indicated by numbers enclosed
in curly braces, e.g. {99}. They have been located where page
breaks occurred in the original book. The locations of some
illustrations have been moved to avoid splitting paragraphs.

THE BIRD STUDY BOOK

by

T. GILBERT PEARSON

Secretary, National Association of Audubon Societies

Coloured Frontispiece

Pen and ink drawings by Will Simmons

And sixteen photographs

[Frontispiece: Wood Thrush]

Garden City ------ New York
Doubleday, Page & Company
1917
Copyright, 1917, by
Doubleday, Page & Company
All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
languages, including the Scandinavian

TO MY WIFE

ELSIE WEATHERLY PEARSON

{v}

PREFACE

This book has been written for the consideration of that ever-increasing
class of Americans who are interested in acquiring a greater familiarity
with the habits and activities of wild birds. There are many valuable
publications treating more or less exhaustively of the classification of
birds, as well as of form, colour, distribution, migration, songs, and
foods. Here an attempt is made to place before the reader a brief
consideration of these and many similar topics, and suggest lines of
action and thought that may perhaps stimulate a fuller study of the
subject. Attention is also given to the relation of birds to mankind and
the effect of civilisation on the bird-life