( 3 ) 



the North China Branch of the Eoyal 

 Asiatic Society, in which a number of 

 species were added, bringing the total 

 species now recorded in this region 

 up to about half of all known in the 

 whole of China. 



It is our purpose in the descriptions 

 which follow to notice only the ones 

 of this number which are likely to be 

 met with by the ordinary observer of 

 bird life. 



No originality is claimed for these 

 notes, they are written with one 

 purpose only, to give a popular 

 description by which the common 

 birds may be readily identified by the 

 bird lover who has neither time nor 

 facilities for making a more scientific 

 study. 



The only full description of Chinese 

 birds in print is an old French work 

 by Pere David COisieux de la Chine, 

 Paris 1877) which is now very rare 

 and difficult to obtain. To the tech- 

 nical scientist there are many 

 authorities available, but to the 

 ordinary student and lover of birds, 

 most of these are entirely inaccessible. 



The greatest lack in ornithological 

 literature of China is not the scientific 

 descriptions of species — perhaps few 

 remain yet to be described — but the 

 sort of careful popular study that has 

 taught us so much of the intimate 

 personal ways of the birds of America 

 and England. We must be able to 

 identify a bird at least by some name 

 before we can study its habits success- 

 fully. If these notes help to make 

 such identification easier, and such 

 study more general, they will have 

 accomplished their purpose. 



The system of classification adopted 

 is that of Gadow as modified by Dr. F. 



