Early in this century, the old Bureau of Biological Survey put out a
booklet called “Fifty Common Birds of Farm and Orchard,” with paintings
by Louis Agassiz Fuertes.
In 1962, a former Fish and Wildlife Service staffer named Rachael Carson
wrote “Silent Spring,” a book that changed American thinking about
birds—and pesticides.
That first volume is out of date because of our great population shifts
in six decades. And I hope that “Silent Spring” will be out of date some
day; that our birds will live with us in an unpoisoned environment of
cities and towns that are cleaner, healthier, greener.
So here is a new “bird book” from the Department of the Interior, geared
to the 50 birds you might see in _your_ city, with paintings done by a
man who picked up the fallen Fuertes brush, Bob Hines. These are not
endangered birds, except as all living things are endangered; some of
them are living in or passing through your backyard or city park right
now. Look well at Bob’s art; he is not commemorating the passenger
pigeon but trying to open your eyes to the world about you.
And he is trying to suggest that these birds can live in our towns and
cities so long as you help provide the healthy habitat they need,
habitat that is healthy not just for them but for you.
Enjoy this little book, learn from it, and take a vow that our springs
will _not_ be silent of bird calls—and will be more silent of human
clatter.
[Illustration]
_Secretary of the Interior_