vill PREFACE. 
members of that class which still exists in the British 
Isles. 
To those who codperate in the progress of Paleontology 
by collecting and preserving the Fossil Remains of Mammals 
and Birds, I trust that the present work will be found 
useful as an aid in determining their acquisitions. I have 
heard the wish for such a work expressed by many Collect- 
ors, to whom the great works on general Paleontology, Os- 
teology, and Geology, including figures and descriptions of 
British Fossils,—as, for example, the ‘Ossemens Fossiles ’ 
of Cuvier, the ‘Ostéographie’ of Professor De Blainville, 
the ‘ Reliquiz Diluviane’ of Dr. Buckland, and the ‘ Or- 
ganic Remains’ of Parkinson,—were with difficulty, if at 
all, accessible; not to speak of Memoirs in the Trans- 
actions of British and Foreign Societies, in which, hereto- 
fore, the descriptions and figures of some of the most in- 
teresting British Fossil Mammals and Birds could alone 
be found. 
The present summary will by no means, indeed, preclude 
the necessity of studying the valuable works above cited, 
in order to gain a full knowledge of the nature of our 
extinct animals; but I am not without hope that it may 
frequently give such an indication of the value and rarity 
of a newly-discovered fossil, as may induce greater pains 
and care in its preservation, and thereby tend to acce- 
lerate the progress of our knowledge of the ancient Fauna 
of Great Britain. 
The Treatises and Memoirs cited at the head of each 
section in this ‘ History,’ will demonstrate how great and 
valuable a proportion of the information therein systema- 
tically set forth has been derived from the labours of my 
predecessors in this field of enquiry. I most gratefully 
acknowledge these indispensable sources of knowledge ; 
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