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PRACTICAL ORNITHOLOGY. 



TENTH LESSON. 



'• FAUNISTS, AS YOU OBSERVE, ARE TOO APT TO ACQUIESCE IN BARE DE- 

 SCRIPTIONS AND A FEW SYNONYMS: THE REASON IS PLAIN, BECAUSE 

 ALL THAT MAY BE DONE AT HOME IN A MAN'S STUDY, BUT THE INVES- 

 TIGATION OF THE LIFE AND CONVERSATION OF ANIMALS IS A CONCERN 

 OF MUCH MORE TROUBLE AND DIFFICULTY, AND IS NOT TO BE ATTAINED 

 BUT BY THE ACTIVE AND INQUISITIVE, AND BY THOSE THAT RESIDE 

 MUCH IN THE COUNTRY. MEN THAT UNDERTAKE ONLY ONE DIS- 

 TRICT, ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO ADVANCE NATURAL KNOWLEDGE, 

 THAN THOSE THAT GRASP AT MORE THAN THEY CAN POSSIBLY BE AC- 

 QUAINTED WITH. EVERY KINGDOM, EVERY PROVINCE, SHOULD HAVE 

 ITS OWN MONOGRAPHER."— G/iBjBiir WHITE. 



CATALOGUE OF THE LAND BIRDS OF LEICESTERSHIRE. 

 BY MR JAMES HARLEY. 



Leicestershire is one of the most central counties in the 

 kingdom. Its surface may be in general designated as table- 

 land. We have no elevations sufficient to excite those feelings 

 of awe which in mountainous countries enforce, even in the 

 mind of the heedless rambler, the conviction of an omnipresent 

 God. The highest eminence is Bardow Hill, 853 feet above 

 the level of the sea, and forming part of Charnwood Forest, 

 the most rugged and picturesque part of the county. 



The geological features of the district are far from being un- 

 important. We have various minerals of considerable value : 

 lime, gypsum, coal, slate, and syenite. The lime, which is 

 found at Barrow, is celebrated for its property of setting under 

 water, and contains remains of Ichthyosauri, Plesiosauri, and 

 other primeval animals. Coal is obtained abundantly on the 

 western side of the county, and in this district metalliferous 

 limestone abounds ; besides which, we have a magnesian lime- 

 stone at Cloud Hill and Breedon. Along the valley of the Soar, 



