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Acknowledgments - The author wishes to thank many people who have helped him through the years to know the creatures of the wilds. My father took me walking in the woods and when I grew up, put a gun and camera in my hands. His training was the beginning of an insight into the wild birds and animals, their habitat and their relationships with man.

Foreword - You are about to embark on an interesting study of a great collection of birds, the game birds. Much has been written about birds in general, but here you will find a specialized account of these particular species as they apply to the hunter, naturalist and photographer, where they are found, something about their habits and haunts.

01. About Game Birds - The study of American game birds will take you into all parts of the country and into all climates, seasons and kinds of wild land. You will visit the marshes, the fens and the lowland swamps and swales, the upland farms and fields, the broken woods patches and the high remote mountainous areas of our great land.

Various game birds are all over the map and are not difficult to identify, as are the many song birds such as the finches, warblers, sparrows and also birds of prey.

02. Upland Game Birds - The most prized game bird of upland game hunters in the northern belt of states is the ruffed grouse, one of a large family of birds that inhabit North America. In the same family is the pinnated grouse commonly known as the prairie chicken. Other members of the family include the dusky grouse of the west, Franklin's grouse of the Pacific states, the Hudsonian grouse of northern Canada, sharp-tailed grouse of the western plains states and their numerous subspecies.

03. Lowland Game Birds - The familiar barnyard gobbler is the same species as the wild turkey. It has merely adapted itself, with the aid of man, to live with the other fowl of the farm rather than stay in woods where it first came from.

Everybody knows what the barnyard turkey looks like, since he is the traditional bird of the Thanksgiving and Christmas table. The early explorers of our country depended upon him for many a main course at the family table.

04. Puddle Ducks - Due to its broad distribution along boat coasts and throughout the inland lakes and marshes, the mallard or "greenhead" is the most sought after of our waterfowl. It is the prettiest in the minds of some, since it has been the most common subject of painters and wildlife artists. Mallard decorations and miniature decoys grace many a sportsman's library or den.

05. Diving Ducks - Unfortunately, the redhead, one of our grandest and once one of our most common game birds is in a serious downward cycle of abundance. He has been removed from the list of shoot-able waterfowl, and not completely due to hunting pressure. Despite the sportsmen's hard fight and cooperation from government and private agencies, the redhead's nesting areas, due to drainage and lack of water, are in bad shape.

06. Geese - From a distance the Canada goose is easily identified. His body is brown, neck and head black, but his head wears a triangular white patch. He is the biggest of our geese, and is found either as a resident or a migrator over most of the United States.

In the spring and fall, he is seen flying very high in great long wedges to and from his wintering and summer breeding grounds, coming down into city parks, reservations and sanctuaries for a rest period and for food.

07. Heritage + Responsibility - The study of American game birds is actually the study of the country itself, from the standpoint of nature and outdoor life. Where proper conditions for these species exist, you will find them in varying numbers according to the amount of disturbance man has caused in their environment, feeding and isolation.

Glossary - Barred Feathers which are marked with alternating light and dark bands.

Blind A constructed "place covered and surrounded with natural grasses and branches in which the hunter hides in or near to see or shoot game.

Brace Two birds.

Clutch of Eggs The name given to a single laying of the usual amount at one nesting period.

Commercial Shooting Preserve A preserve privately owned that is stocked with birds or animals for the sole purpose of shooting them. A certain price is charged for each bird killed.

Bibliography - BETTEN, H. L. Upland Game Shooting. Philadelphia: Penn Publishing Co., 1940.

COLLINS, HENRY H. Complete Guide to American Wildlife. New York: Harper and Bros., 1959.

CONNETT, E. V Duck Shooting. New York: William Morrow, 1947.

CRUICKSHANK, ALLAN D. Pocket Guide to the Birds. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1953.

EDMINSTER, FRANK C. American Game Birds. New York: Charles Scribner's 1954.

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