40 



number kept m coiifinement here, I am enabled to 

 approximate to the knowledge of the chances of the 

 said birds having got away from artificial detention. 

 For these sort of reasons I reject the Black Stork in 

 the enumerated Catalogue, and place it at the end with 

 a note of interrogation ; merely asking whether it 

 should be regarded as a British species, but by no 

 means doubting the authority on which the single in- 

 stance stands. 



I am nearly certain that I once saw a large flight 

 of Cranes or Storks (but I think probably the for- 

 mer,) passing at an immense height over the town 

 of Hackney; but from this single fact alone I would 

 not have registered them as British, even had 1 iden- 

 tified the species. On another occasion four very 

 large black Pigeons, with very broad expanded tails, 

 evidently not a British species, passed over the same 

 place, and had the measured wing, and uniformly pro- 

 gressive and straight direction, of birds on a passage. 

 But had I caught and identified one of these, I would 

 not have marked down its species as British. 



In the small roman character which follows the 

 capitals in the foregoing Catalogue, i have put down 

 the names given by Dr. Leach, except where they are 

 marked with a ? In which few instances, I have sub- 

 stituted names, which, according to my opinion, were 

 more nearly those of the antient writers, or more 

 adapted to generic differences. I only submit them 

 with deference to far superior judgement, and to that 

 of other Ornithologists. 



In the following Catalogue I have attended to ge- 

 neric and specific differences, and thereon founded 

 a nomenclature, regardless of the modern names, 

 wherever they appeared to disagree with facts ; but at 

 the same time adhering as much as possible to the 

 views of Aristotle, Aelian, Pliny, and other of the an- 

 tient writers. 



