“When apple trees are white
With their burden of delight.”
Baltimore Orioles (lower, male; upper, female) in an Adams County Orchard
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE
BIRDS OF
PENNSYLVANIA
BY
GEORGE MIKSCH SUTTON
STATE ORNITHOLOGIST OF PENNSYLVANIA
CHIEF OF BUREAU OF RESEARCH AND INFORMATION
PENNSYLVANIA STATE GAME COMMISSION
MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, ETC.
With a frontispiece in color and numerous pen-and-ink text-drawings by the author
1928
PUBLISHED BY
J. HORACE McFARLAND COMPANY
HARRISBURG, PENNA.
Copyright, 1928
By J. HORACE McFARLAND COMPANY
MOUNT PLEASANT PRESS
Harrisburg, Penna.
Dedication
MY MOTHER THINKS SHE DOES NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT BIRDS; BUT SHE KNEW ENOUGH ABOUT THEM TO LET ME BRING THEM, ALIVE, DEAD, OR WORSE THAN DEAD, INTO HER BUSY HOUSEHOLD, AND I THINK SHE IS A GOOD ORNITHOLOGIST.
PREFATORY NOTE
I have written this book for those who are beginning astudy of birds in Pennsylvania; or for those who, after somestudy in a certain region, wish to know more about the birdsin other sections of the Commonwealth.
This book is not intended to be a complete reference work.The descriptions of the birds and statements of their statusare as brief as I felt I could make them under the circumstances.Many species of birds which have been recorded inPennsylvania are not even mentioned. These are omittedso as to simplify the list for the beginner, who is confrontedwith a sufficiently formidable array of new and strange namesas it is. All important species are, however, included.
Colored illustrations throughout this hand manual would,of course, have been desirable, but their cost is great, and thepen drawings are adequate for field-work; perhaps, in fact,even better than fully colored drawings which often lead thebeginner to expect too much from the glimpses he may haveof birds in the field.
Throughout the manual I have attempted to stress thepoints which are of importance to the field student, and havetried to eliminate material which might lead to confusion.
Thorough, detailed works on Pennsylvania birds areneeded. Such volumes, one on western Pennsylvania, byW. E. Clyde Todd, of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh, andone on eastern Pennsylvania, by Dr. Witmer Stone, of thePhiladelphia Academy of Arts and Sciences, are in themaking now. But it may be years before these completedvolumes are ready for distribution, and in the meantime ourbudding ornithologists are carrying on their studies handicappedby a lack of any sort of reference work which is up-to-date,understandable, simple and local in its treatment,and within reach of those of average means. This volumehas been prepared to meet this need.
It is hoped that t