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INTEODUCTION 



Ornithology in its proper sense is tlie methodical study and consequent 

 knowledge of Birds with all that relates to them ; but the difficulty of 

 assigning a limit to the commencement of such study and knowledge gives 

 the word a very vague meaning, and practically procures its application 

 to much that does not enter the domain of Science. This elastic applica- 

 tion renders it impossible in any sketch of the history of Ornithology to 

 draw a sharp distinction between works that are emphaticallj' ornitho- 

 logical and those to which that title can only be attached by courtesy ; 

 for, since Birds have always attracted far greater attention than any other 

 group of animals with which in number or in importance they can be 

 compared, there has grown up concerning them a literature of corre- 

 sponding magnitude and of the widest range, extending from the recondite 

 and laborious investigations of the morphologist and anatomist to the 

 casual observations of the sportsman or the schoolboy. The chief cause 

 of the disproportionate amount of attention which Birds have received 

 plainly arises from the way in which so many of them familiarly present 

 themselves to us, or even (it may be said) force themselves upon our 

 notice. Trusting to the freedom from danger conferred by the power of 

 flight, most Birds have no need to lurk hidden in dens, or to slink from 

 place to place under shelter of the inequalities of the ground or of the 

 vegetation which clothes it, as is the case with so many other animals of 

 similar size. Beside this, a great number of the Birds which thus display 

 themselves freely to our gaze are conspicuous for the beauty of their 

 plumage ; and there are very few that are not remarkable for the grace of 

 their form. Some Birds again enchant us with their voice, and others 

 administer to our luxuries and wants, while there is scarcely a species 

 which has not idiosyncrasies that are found to be of engaging interest the 

 more we know of them. Moreover, it is clear that the art of the fowler 

 is one that must have been practised from the very earliest times, and to 

 follow that art with success no inconsiderable amount of acquaintance 

 with the haunts and habits of Birds is a necessity. Owing to one or 

 another of these causes, or to the combination of more than one, it is not 

 surprising that the observation of Birds has been from a very remote 

 period a favourite pursuit among nearly all nations, and this observation 

 has by degrees led to a study more or less framed on methodical principles, 

 finally reaching the dignity of a science, and a study that has its votaries 



