INTRODUCTION. 



rr^HERE are some subjects of which the public are never tired of 

 -^ reading, nor authors of writing, and one of those is Birds. A 

 new book on this subject can never be out of season; provided it is 

 written in a loving and appreciative spirit, always will it find readers, 

 although it may contain nothing particularly original or striking. 

 Tear after year the trees bud and blossom, and put forth loaves and 

 fruitage; year after year the beautiful flowers carpet the woodlands 

 afresh with variegated dyes, "paint the meadows with delight," and 

 make the earth one blooming garden; year after year the sweet spring 

 calls forth the native songsters to renew their interrupted melody, and 

 the air is winnowed by countless wings of the feathered voyagers, who 

 pass the winter in warmer climates; and always is the fresh verdure, 

 the unfolding of the flowers, the burst of vernal melody, and all the 

 lovely sights and sounds, and indications of reviving nature, a source 

 of delight to the thoughtful and reflective mind. So it is with a new 

 book on Birds, or Flowers; it is always welcome, for truly has the 

 poet said 



"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever." 



Our present endeavour is to produce a book which shall give a 

 concise, yet sufiicieutly full description of the smaller British Birds; not 

 a scientific book, but one essentially popular in its character, rendered 

 attractive by life-like portraits of our feathered clients, drawn and 

 coloured as closely to nature as the eye and the hand of the artist 

 can make them, and arranged in groups which shall at once show 

 their relationships with each other, and affinities with the whole orni- 

 thological system. A book that shall be sufficiently cheap for young 



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