xl INTRODUCTION. 



The Capercaillie, although not placed between square 

 brackets, is not included in the list of county birds ; if 

 this species is added, the total number is 326. 



This decided superiority of the avifauna of Yorkshire 

 over those of the two maritime districts with which alone it 

 is fair to institute comparisons, is to be accounted for by a 

 combination of advantages. In Yorkshire the favourable 

 geographical position of Norfolk is associated with its physical 

 advantages and those of Northumberland and Durham, and 

 when it is further considered that Yorkshire possesses in 

 addition a much greater diversity of surface, soil, and climate 

 than either, there remains little reason for surprise at the- 

 numerical excellence of its fauna. The superiority is not 

 merely one of numerical extent. Casual and accidental 

 visitants cannot be regarded as true members of any fauna, 

 and the ornithological richness or poverty of a district can only 

 be gauged by a comparison of the number of its residents 

 and regular visitants, and more especially of that of the 

 species which breed annually. In this respect too — as the 

 table shows — the superiority of Yorkshire is well marked, 

 demonstrating still more forcibly the advantages possessed by 

 the county which contains the greatest diversity of surface, 

 a diversity ranging in this case from the low carr lands of the 

 E.S.E. to the mountains of the W.N.W., with a coast-line 

 affording both lofty and rugged cliffs and sandy fiats, 

 thus presenting every kind of habitat necessary for the 

 presence of almost every type of bird which breeds in the 

 British Isles. 



The ninety-one Resident Birds include the following 

 species, which deserve special mention : — 



The Nuthatch, Wood-Lark, and Lesser Spotted Wood- 

 pecker, find in the county the northern limit of their general 

 distribution in Britain during the breeding season ; though 

 they have been known to nest occasionally or singly in dis- 

 tricts still further north. 



The Raven, Buzzard, and Peregrine Falcon, all formerly 

 resident in some abundance, are now restricted to a few pairs 

 of each species still attempting to breed annually, the Buzzard, 



