GOLDFINCH (page BIRD STORIES
FROM BURROUGHS
TAKEN FROM THE WORKS OF
JOHN BURROUGHS
BY LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge
1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, BY JOHN BURROUGHS
COPYRIGHT, 1911, BY HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
PUBLISHERS' NOTE
John Burroughs's first book, "Wake-Robin,"contained a chapter entitled "The Invitation."It was an invitation to the study ofbirds. He has reiterated it, implicitly if not explicitly,in most of the books he has publishedsince then, and many of his readers have joyfullyaccepted it. Indeed, such an invitationfrom Mr. Burroughs is the best possible introductionto the birds of our Northeastern States,and it is likewise an introduction to some verygood reading. To convey this invitation to awider circle of young readers the most interestingbird stories in Mr. Burroughs's books havebeen gathered into a single volume. A chapteris given to each species of bird, and the chaptersare arranged in a sort of chronological order,according to the time of the bird's arrival in thespring, the nesting time, or the season when forsome other reason the species is particularly conspicuous.In taking the stories out of their originalsetting a few slight verbal alterations havebeen necessary here and there, but these havebeen made either by Mr. Burroughs himself orwith his approval.