PREFACE 



The object of this work is to give to the young 

 collector a book which will not be beyond his 

 means and which at the same time will contain 

 an account of all the birds which he is likely to 

 meet with in the British Isles. 



Some years ago scholastic work took me to a 

 school on the borders of the New Forest in 

 Hampshire. Natural history pursuits always 

 occupied a prominent place among the recreations 

 of the boys, and many an enjoyable day was 

 spent rambling through the Forest in search of 

 something which might be deemed worthy of a 

 place in our collections, and possibly of a para- 

 graph in a natural history paper to be read at one 

 of our social evenings afterwards. At another 

 time our excursion would be directed through 

 Harewood to Andover, or over the Downs to 

 Salisbury, or we would even run down to South- 

 ampton and, crossing the Solent, spend an 

 enjoyable day roaming over part of the beautiful 

 Isle of Wight in pursuit of our favourite hobby. 

 Perhaps no county in England affords such 

 scope to ornithologists as sunny Hampshire. 



