6 INTRODUCTION 



Stork, Grey Shrike, and other interesting forms of 

 bird life which it would be hopeless to expect to find 

 in this country. I had also seen many others which 

 had succeeded in evading the near approach of my 

 camera. But rappetit vient en mangeant, and I was 

 bitten with an insatiable longing to add more rarities 

 to my list of photographic subjects. Lack of means, 

 however, was an effectual bar to any further pursuit 

 on my part, especially in those countries which I 

 was most anxious to visit. However, by good 

 fortune, I have in quite an unexpected way been 

 enabled to make three most interesting expeditions 

 to some of the least known and most out-of-the- 

 way parts of Southern and Eastern Europe in the 

 search for rare members of the bird world, and the 

 present volume deals with my experiences and 

 adventures. 



To me these expeditions after birds, in spite of 

 the difficulties and hardships inseparable from 

 working in the inaccessible marshes and mountain 

 solitudes, where alone one may expect to have any 

 success, have been most intensely enjoyable. Many 

 rare birds, quite new to me, have been found and 

 photographed at close quarters, many strange 

 countries and strange people have been visited, 

 and many friendships made. Fresh experience 

 has also been gained in other directions, for while 

 previous expeditions at home and abroad have been 



