The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Burgess Bird Book for Children, by
Thornton W. Burgess

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Title: The Burgess Bird Book for Children

Author: Thornton W. Burgess

Posting Date: January 17, 2009 [EBook #3074]
Release Date: February, 2002

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BURGESS BIRD BOOK FOR CHILDREN ***

Produced by Eve Sobol

THE BURGESS BIRD BOOK FOR CHILDREN

By Thornton W. Burgess

TO THE CHILDREN AND THE BIRDS
OF AMERICA THAT THE BONDS OF LOVE AND
FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN THEM MAY BE
STRENGTHENED
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED

PREFACE

This book was written to supply a definite need. Its preparation was
undertaken at the urgent request of booksellers and others who have
felt the lack of a satisfactory medium of introduction to bird life for
little children. As such, and in no sense whatever as a competitor
with the many excellent books on this subject, but rather to supplement
these, this volume has been written.

Its primary purpose is to interest the little child in, and to make
him acquainted with, those feathered friends he is most likely to see.
Because there is no method of approach to the child mind equal to the
story, this method of conveying information has been adopted. So far
as I am aware the book is unique in this respect. In its preparation an
earnest effort has been made to present as far as possible the important
facts regarding the appearance, habits and characteristics of our
feathered neighbors. It is intended to be at once a story book and an
authoritative handbook. While it is intended for little children, it
is hoped that children of larger growth may find in it much of both
interest and helpfulness.

Mr. Louis Agassiz Fuertes, artist and naturalist, has marvelously
supplemented such value as may be in the text by his wonderful drawings
in full color. They were made especially for this volume and are so
accurate, so true to life, that study of them will enable any one to
identify the species shown. I am greatly indebted to Mr. Fuertes for his
cooperation in the endeavor to make this book of real assistance to the
be