Xll 



INTRODUCTION 



With the help of the photographs in this book it should 

 not be difficult for any one to recognise and determine a 

 fair proportion of the members of the South African avi- 

 fauna, without having recourse to the task of skinning. The 

 latter is, however, learnt with a little patience and practice, 

 and will be found indispensable to any one taking up the 

 study of ornithology in earnest. 



Notes on habits, coloration of soft parts, contents of crops, 

 dates, &c, should be carefully entered in a book kept for 

 the purpose. 



For information on skinning we would direct attention 

 to a little work of Eowland Ward's, 166, Piccadilly, London, 

 called the " Sportsman's Handbook " ; and for further and 

 more scientific information on our birds, the four excellent 

 volumes on Birds by Dr. A. C. Stark and W. L. Sclater in 

 the "Fauna of South Africa" series, must be consulted. 



I Primaries . 



IT SECONDARIES 



SI Primary coverts 

 JV Greater W/ms courts 

 V Median coverts 



V[ lESSSR VYlHG-COVERTS 

 VU BASTARO-iVIMG 



/N/VEft) 



{Middle) 

 %~(Our£ftj " 



The Nomenclature of the External Portions of a Bird's Anatomy 

 (after Reichenow), 



