475 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



It is scarcely necessary for me to point out the pe- 

 culiarities of the descriptions contained in this volume. 

 Persons accustomed to move quietly along in the old 

 well- beaten track, will no doubt view them in the light 

 reflected from piles of dry skins and rows of stuflPed spe- 

 cimens, having eyes of glass and entrails of flax. These 

 relics are no doubt very useful : I have found them so, 

 and have not neglected to avail myself of the means 

 which I possess of procuring them, or of the opportu- 

 nities aff^orded me of examining those in the possession 

 of others ; but they are not birds. My descriptions are 

 all original, and, with the exception of a few, taken 

 from entire animals. In many cases my account of the 

 habits of the species is also derived from my own ob- 

 servation ; and whenever I have been obliged to have 

 recourse to that of others, I have not concealed the 

 fact. The characters of the families, genera, and spe- 

 cies, are also entirely original, and even the ornitholo- 

 gists will acknowledge that many of my remarks are 

 perfectly so. The observations respecting the intesti- 

 nal canal they must also admit to be quite peculiar to 

 this work. In short, whatever may be its value, I know 

 no book on British birds, from Willughby's to the Rev. 



