iv PREFACE. 



Under each plate is given the ordinary English name 

 of the species, the place which it occupies in the system 

 of classification followed in the text, and two measure- 

 ments to give an idea of the scale on which the bird is 

 drawn. These are (1) the length in inches from the tip 

 of the beak to the tip of the tail ; (2) the length from 

 the carpal joint (the 'shoulder'' of the wing) to the 

 quill-tips — the greatest length of the wing when measured 

 in the position of rest. The figures are average measure- 

 ments for adult males according to a standard authority. 

 In most species the females are slightly smaller. Great 

 disparity, or differences in the reverse direction, are 

 usually mentioned in the text. 



The pm^pose of the text is to give in popular language 

 an account of the natural history of British - breeding 

 birds, considered as such. The list is complete, and in- 

 cludes birds which nest only exceptionally in om- islands, 

 or which formerly nested here but no longer do so. 

 Birds only suspected of having nested in Britain are 

 mentioned within brackets under the head of some allied 

 species. The birds receiving lengthy treatment correspond 

 roughly to those to which plates have been allotted ; but 

 items of special interest or importance, and the inclusion 

 or omission of near relatives, have been important factors 

 in determining whether a species should be fully de- 

 scribed or not. It is explained (on p. 227) why the 

 descriptions of the birds of the great Order, Passeres^ 

 are usually shorter than those in the earlier part of 

 the volume. 



In planning the chapters, uniformity has been deliber- 

 ately avoided, rather than aimed at, but each chapter 

 describing a British-nesting bird will be found to con- 

 tain a general account of the species and a more detailed 

 description of its nest and eggs. A great many general 



