PREFACE. 



The habits of animals will never be tlioronglily 

 known till tliey are observed in detail. Nor is it 

 sufficient to mark them witli attention now and then ; 

 they must be closely watched, their various actions 

 carefully noted, their behaviom* under different cir- 

 cumstances, and especially those movements which 

 seem to us mere vagaries, undirected by any sugges- 

 tible motive or cause, well examined. A rich fruit 

 of result, often most curious and unexpected, and 

 often singularly illustrative of peculiarities of struc- 

 ture, will^ I am sure, reward any one who studies living 

 animals in this way. The most interesting parts, by 

 far, of published natural history, are those minute, 

 but most gTaphic particulars, which have been ga- 

 thered by an attentive watching of individual animals. 

 Many examples crowd up to my mind ; — Wilson's 

 picture of the Mocking-bird ; Vigors' s of the Toucan ; 

 Broderip's of his Beaver " Binny;" Dovaston's of 

 the Water-shrew ; Bennett's of the Bird of Paradise, 

 and multitudes more. 



