ANALYSIS 



OF THE 



CLAIMS OF CERTAIN BIRDS 



TO BE 



ACCOUNTED BRITISH. 



A VERY useful attempt to put together all the recorded 

 occurrences of our rarer British Birds has recently been 

 made by Mr. Harting in his " Handbook of British Birds," 

 but it was not within the scope of his work to examine 

 minutely into the claims upon which each individual rested. 

 Believing that many of these would turn out to be purely 

 imaginary, I have applied myself to this task, and I now 

 present the results of my analysis of seven of them. It 

 is by no means in the interest of science that fictitious 

 records should be perpetuated and copied from one book 

 into another, — until the original authorities being dead or 

 lost sight of, it is too late to verify them. 



I intend to go on working at the subject, so I will only 

 here say that if any reader should chance to be in posses- 

 sion of valid disproof of any of the occurrences here given, 

 I shall be greatly indebted to him to inform me of the 

 same for my future use. The truth, the whole truth, and 



