OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS
BY
ELIZABETH GRINNELL
AND
JOSEPH GRINNELL
BOSTON, U.S.A.
D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS
1899
Copyright, 1898,
By D. C. HEATH & CO.
TYPOGRAPHY BY J. S. CUSHING & CO., NORWOOD, MASS.
PRESSWORK BY ROCKWELL & CHURCHILL, BOSTON.
INTRODUCTION.
This volume really needs little by way of introduction.No one can mistake the evident love for ourfeathered friends, the kindly assistance that has beengiven them, and the success of the authors in impartingto others much of that pleasure which they have undoubtedlyderived from their studies.
The same recreation lies within the power of all whothrough inattention and thoughtlessness neglect thealmost priceless relief from daily burdens afforded bysuch pursuits. Every one can learn something of theways and doings of our little friends, even though hemay never write a book or put a pen to paper concerningthem.
Knowledge thus acquired is not wasted; it elevates the mind andtrains the senses, so that in after life the habits of observing andnoting frequently become of great use, and are never a detriment.
Our authors have set forth the wanton destruction ofbird life consequent upon the use of feathers and partsof birds to ornament hats. They have in no way misstated;for tens of thousands of birds are annually[ iv ]offered on the altar of fashion to gratify a cruel andbarbarous survival of savage adornment. Yet the malefriend of the lady who wears upon her head a gorgeousarray of mutilated, misshapen, and dyed birdskins mayhave done something to assist in a similar destructionof bird life. As a boy perhaps he wantonly deprivedsome bird of her eggs; and later, when possessed of agun, he may have shown little discretion or thoughtwhen depriving the nestling of a mother or father whoalone could feed and protect it. And as a man, toooften it may be, he has allowed savage instincts to dominatehis acts instead of the knowledge derived fromexperience and thought.
It lies within the power of many who will read thesepages to assist in the distribution of evidence and inthe enlightenment of others, to the end that the uselessslaughter of birds and the destruction of their eggsmay be prevented, or at least greatly mitigated.
Within a few years past efforts have been made tohave one day a year in the schools set aside to study andconsider the ways and interests of our feathered friends.The matter