INTRODUCTION xxvii 



cannot withhold some expression of my indebted- 

 ness to my friends Professor Newton, Mr. Howard 

 Saunders, and Mr. J. A. Harvie-Brown, all of 

 whom have been kind enough to revise " proof- 

 sheets " submitted to them, and to make many 

 useful suggestions and corrections. My obligations 

 to Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley for the infor- 

 mation derived from their beautiful volumes on the 

 ** Vertebrate Fauna of Scotland," and to Messrs. 

 Ussher and Warren for the many facts gleaned from 

 their " Birds of Ireland," will be perceived from the 

 frequency with which their names are mentioned 

 in the following pages. It is not pretended that 

 the present work is free from errors, but it is 

 hoped that the author's shortcomings may be to 

 some extent condoned in view of the enormous 

 labour which its preparation has entailed. 



J. E. HARTING. 



Burlington House, 



March 25, 1901. 



