xxxii INTRODUCTION. 
but as a relative part which assists in forming an almost perfect and har- 
monious whole. In the words of the illustrious Darwin :—“ When we no 
longer look at an organic being as a savage looks at a ship, as something 
wholly beyond his comprehension, when we regard every production of 
Nature as one which has had a long history, when we contemplate every 
complex structure and instinct as the summing-up of many contrivances, 
each useful to the possessor, in the same way as any great mechanical 
invention is the summing-up of the labour, the experience, the reason, and 
even the blunders of numerous workmen; when we thus view each organic 
being, how far more interesting (I speak from experience) does the study 
of natural history become ! ” 
Oology, as a science, is almost virgin ground for research, and its import- 
ance in elucidating much that is strange in the economy of birds is great. 
It is when Oology becomes more generally and comparatively studied, and 
an interchange of observations by oologists in various parts of the world 
effected, that the importance of protective colouring, mimicry, bird archi- 
tecture, &c. will become manifest, the present insufficiency of data bearing 
on the subject being a very great obstacle to its scientific progress. Every 
little detail, however insignificant it may seem, must be recorded ere we 
can gain a complete knowledge of this interesting branch of research; and - 
the remote history of a species must not be neglected where it can be 
traced with reasonable certainty. 
I hope to return to this fascinating subject at no distant date, treating it 
on a wider basis by including the nests and eggs of birds from all parts of 
the world. I shall be extremely obliged for any notes from any part of 
the world bearing on the subject of Birds’ Nests, Eggs, and Nidification ; 
for Iam convinced that it is only by collecting an immense variety of 
such facts that the subject can be successfully investigated. 
