COPYRIGHT, 1871, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1879, 1881, 1886, 1894, 1899, 1903, 1904,
1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, BY JOHN BURROUGHS
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY

Transcriber's Note: Hyphenation has been standardised. Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.

PUBLISHERS' NOTE

John Burroughs's first book, "Wake-Robin," contained a chapter entitled "The Invitation." It was an invitation to the study of birds. He has reiterated it, implicitly if not explicitly, in most of the books he has published since then, and many of his readers have joyfully accepted it. Indeed, such an invitation from Mr. Burroughs is the best possible introduction to the birds of our Northeastern States, and it is likewise an introduction to some very good reading. To convey this invitation to a wider circle of young readers the most interesting bird stories in Mr. Burroughs's books have been gathered into a single volume. A chapter is given to each species of bird, and the chapters are arranged in a sort of chronological order, according to the time of the bird's arrival in the spring, the nesting time, or the season when for some other reason the species is particularly conspicuous. In taking the stories out of their original setting a few slight verbal alterations have been necessary here and there, but these have been made either by Mr. Burroughs himself or with his approval.

CONTENTS

The Bluebird[1]
The Bluebird (poem)[13]
The Robin[15]
The Flicker[21]
The Phœbe[28]
The Coming of Phœbe (poem)[31]
The Cowbird[33]
The Chipping Sparrow[36]
The Chewink[39]
The Brown Thrasher[42]
The House Wren[47]
The Song Sparrow[53]
The Chimney Swift[61]
The Oven-Bird[69]
The Catbird[72]
The Bobolink[77]
The Bobolink (poem)[82]
The Wood Thrush[83]
The Baltimore Oriole[91]
The Whip-poor-will[95]
The Black-throated Blue Warbler: A Search for
a Rare Nest		[100]
The Marsh Hawk: A Marsh Hawk's Nest, a Young
Hawk, and a Visit to a Quail on her Nest		[106]
The Winter Wren[119]
The Cedar-Bird[122]
The Goldfinch[125]
The Hen-Hawk[130]
The Ruffed Grouse, or Partridge[133]
The Partridge (poem)[137]
The Crow[138]
The Crow (poem)[144]
The Northern Shrike[147]
The Screech Owl[151]
The Chickadee[157]
The Downy Woodpecker[161]
The Downy Woodpecker (poem)[169]
Index[173]