PREFACE. 



The present volume has been written by Mr. Eugene W. Gates, 

 who is well known to Ornithologists as the Editor of the second 

 edition of Mr. Allan Hume's ' Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds,' and 

 as the author of the earlier volumes of the ' Aves ' in the ' Fauna of 

 British India.' That he has performed his task conscientiously will 

 be easily perceptible from a perusal of the following pages. 



The CoUection of Birds' Eggs in the British Museum now 

 exceeds a total of 50,000 specimens. It was arranged and labelled 

 some few years ago by Miss Emily Mary Sharpe, under the direction 

 of the late Mr. Henry Seebohm and her father, Dr. Bowdler Sharpe. 

 On that occasion Mr. Seebohm presented to the Trustees the whole 

 of his collection of eggs of Palaearctic Birds, and an opportunity was 

 thus offered of re-arranging the entire series in the Museum. At 

 the same time the valuable donations of Mr, A. 0. Hume, Messrs. 

 Salvin and Godman, Mr. Berkeley James, and other friends of the 

 Museum, were incorporated. 



The original collection of Birds' eggs in the British Museum was 

 rendered of little worth by the exposure of many precious spe- 

 cimens to the light of the pubUc galleries, and by the mounting of 

 the study collection on wooden tablets. Most of these specimens 

 have perished, or have become so bleached as to bo worthless for 

 purposes of study. 



A series of the eggs of British birds, illustrating even those 

 of species included as ' rare ' or ' accidental visitors ' to the British 



