a a eee 
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CHAPTER VI. 
WADING BIRDS. 
NE of the regrets necessarily attendant upon pro- 
gress and improvement, is that arising from the 
gradual extinction of much that once excited our 
admiration or interest. This is especially the case in 
the natural history of our country, where the advance 
in agricultural improvement, by draining our marshes 
and reclaiming our moors and forests, has been the 
means of banishing many races of animals which once 
were plentiful. Hence, while rejoicing at the increase 
in the material wealth of the country, and the general 
well-being of our population, the lover of nature cannot 
but regret the loss of some of our finest indigenous 
species of animals. The noble bustard and the stately 
crane have become matters of history as far as England 
is concerned, while many others are only known by the 
occurrence, at long intervals, of solitary individuals, who 
are no sooner seen than they are shot; and others 
again, though permanently residing with us, are by the 
gradual invasion of their haunts slowly but surely 
diminishing. |. 
But though the great bustard may be considered 
extinct as far as England is concerned, its representa- 
tive in miniature, the Little Bustard (Otis tetraa) occa- 
