THE BURGESS ANIMAL BOOK FOR CHILDREN

Thornton W. Burgess



TO THE CAUSE OF WILD LIFE IN AMERICA, ESPECIALLY THE MAMMALS MANY OF WHICH ARE
SERIOUSLY THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION, THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED.



PREFACE

The cordial reception given the Burgess Bird Book for Children,
together with numerous letters to the author asking for information
on the habits and characteristics of many of the mammals of
America, led to the preparation of this volume. It is offered
merely as an introduction to the four-footed friends, little and
big, which form so important a part of the wild life of the United
States and Canada.

There has been no attempt to describe or classify sub-species.
That is for the scientist and student with specific interests.
The purpose of this book is to acquaint the reader with the
larger groups--orders, families, and divisions of the latter,
so that typical representatives may be recognized and their
habits understood.

Instead of the word mammal, the word animal has been used
throughout as having a better defined meaning to the average