PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. ix 



With regard to himself he may perhaps be 

 allowed to say, that an ardent love of Nature 

 has throughout life been his ruling passion, and 

 the study of her works his greatest delight ; 

 while a residence of many years on the coast, 

 as well as in the interior, of Sussex, has afforded 

 him advantages which do not fall to the lot of 

 every local observer. 



Although from the desultory nature of these 

 papers he has sometimes thrown off the restraint 

 which a rigid adherence to systematic order might 

 have imposed upon him, yet with the view of 

 imparting to the work a more scientific character 

 than it would otherwise possess, and at the same 

 time increasing its utility for purposes of refer- 

 ence and comparison, the arrangement observed 

 by Mr. Yarrell in his admirable work on British 

 Birds, and the nomenclature adopted by that 

 distinguished zoologist have been adhered to in 

 the Catalogue, as appearing to possess in the 

 highest degree the advantages of correctness and 

 simplicity. 



