24 SOME REMARKS ON THE COLLECTION. 



trapped ; the exceptions to this general rule being 

 very few, viz., the Golden Eagle and the Great 

 Northern Diver. For me to have obtained the 

 former would have been an impossibility, and as 

 regards the latter, though I tried very hard I 

 was unsuccessful ; and wishing to complete my 

 Divers, accepted the one now introduced. Of the 

 others, perhaps the most valuable would be Baillon's 

 Crake and the Spotted Crake ; next in order come 

 the Dotterel and Grey Plover ; those remaining 

 being common and not worth any special mention. 



I may also claim that the mountings in the cases — 

 that is, the surroundings in which the birds are 

 placed — are almost entirely my own ideas which 

 have been imparted to the several taxidermists. 



The specimens themselves are mostly in excellent 

 plumage, and have been obtained over a wide field, 

 embracing the west coast of Scotland, Wales, the 

 southern counties of England, and the south-west 

 of Ireland. 



The mountings of the birds are intended to 

 illustrate, as far as possible in a limited space, the 

 habitat most natural to the particular species. Thus, 

 the Golden Eagle is shown in a mountainous 

 district — depicted in the back scene painting — 

 standing amongst rocks and heather in a character- 

 istic attitude over a Scotch hare — one of the com- 

 monest of its victims. The Peregrine Falcons are 

 represented with their eyrie in a cliff with eggs ; in 

 connection with this case I am compelled to admit 

 they are both female birds as I was unsuccessful in 



