206 BRITISH BIRDS. [vol. x. 



in death, he wrote a letter to a young friend at Salonika, 

 who had asked for information about the birds there A 

 short time before this, I had mentioned, in a letter to him, 

 that a Cleveland farmer had given the name of " Kowscot- 

 hawk ■' to a Merlin which had risen from the moor in front 

 of us ; when Nelson was in fact actually dying he was anxious 

 to dictate a reply in order to tell me that he had heard this 

 name applied to another species, but this effort was forbidden. 



Nelson's life was spent very bravely and gently, it was full 

 of kindness ; his days were passed with unflagging industry 

 in the most fascinating of pursuits and he enjoyed to the fiill- 

 all real sport that came within the limits of his strength. ■ 



Although his name may not be placed among the first of 

 our scientific ornithologists or field naturalists he has left 

 an imperishable one amongst lovers of Nature in Yorkshire* 

 and a memory ineffacable in the hearts of his friends. The 

 range of his mind and tastes was too great to allow him to 

 specialize or to become engrossed in the purely technical 

 side of the science he loved. The whole field of nature was 

 embraced in his passion, not merely were the birds, their 

 lives and their haunts his study, but he delighted in the folk- 

 lore and legends, in the superstitions and in old or quaint 

 allusions, indeed he loved every accessory of his chief pursuit. 

 His assiduity in the search for information was remarkabL\ 

 Only a part of his harvest was gathered from books an 1 

 correspondence, the rest was his own gleaning. His heait 

 went out to all nature lovers ; he made friends in every class. 

 The fishermen and boys came to his door with any new or 

 strange bird or beast and many were the natives of the 

 district who brought him " khabar " from the sea, the shore 



* T. H. Nelson was formerly an active member of the Yorkshire 

 Naturalists' Union, acted as referee in omithclogy for The Nalvralist 

 for a number of years and was a member of the B.O.U. from 18^2, 

 Among T. H. Nelson's many contributions to tie literature ; of 

 ornitl ology since 1877 may be mentioned tl e following : 1. j^he 

 Birds of Yorkshire, in two vols., pub. 1907. The title pape (in NeJecn's 

 generous way) associates the names of W. Eagle Clarl e and of F. Boyes 

 with the work ; tbey no doubt acted as consultants and gave hinv 

 help, but it is only fair to Nelson to quote what I e wrote to me 

 when the book had been published • " I often v onder now how the 

 work was finished, particularly as Eagle Claike ai>d Boyes h&\e been 

 so much occupied that they could not give me tl e assistance I ex- 

 pected " (see also letter by W. E. Clarke to Brit. Birds, Vol. I., p. 233) 

 2. Nesting of the Ruff in Yorkshire — Ibis 1906, pp. 735-6 (describing 

 nesting at the Teesmouth, 1901, 1902, 1903, etc.) 3. Pallas'b 

 Sand Grouse in Yorkshire in June, 1908 — Zool. 1908 p. 312 an.l Brit. 

 Birds, II.. p. 134. 4. Little Bimting in Durham — This. 1903, p 139. 

 5. Little Bunting in Yorkshire — Brit. Birds, VII., pp. 196-7. 



