INTRODUCTION 



dunes are a Desert of Gobi in miniature and 

 fortunately for us they have found a biogra- 

 pher by whom the passage of a fox across their 

 wind-swept sides is chronicled as faithfully 

 and vividly as if it were " The Plight of a 

 Tartar Tribe." 



Dr. Townsend is widely known as an 

 authority on the habits of the birds which are 

 characteristic of his chosen field. His keen 

 powers of observation and painstaking care in 

 noting essential details make his books a treas- 

 ure house of information. An example taken 

 at random is the following vivid description 

 of the fishing of the gannet : — ^'When a large 

 flock are throwing themselves from consider- 

 able heights at the water, one bird after an- 

 other in quick succession, or a number at once, 

 sending the water up in great spouts, one is 

 reminded of a naval battle, or at least of its 

 counterfeit presentments. The fishing process 

 in detail is as follows : the gannet flies rapidly 

 over the water and begins to soar at a height 

 of from thirty to a hundred feet, often rising 

 just before the plunge. At the plunge the head 

 is pointed down, while the wings are partly 

 spread, so that the bird appears like a great 

 winged arrow. The speed of the descent is 



