Vi PREFACE. 



By arrangement, the work forms one of the Special 

 Memoirs of the Essex Field Club, that body having made 

 a grant towards the expenses of printing. 



I have endeavoured to make my book as complete as 

 possible by adding to it, among other matters, some remarks 

 on the chief Physical Features of the County of Essex, brief 

 biographical notices of the principal Essex Ornithologists, 

 descriptions of the most important collections of birds within 

 the County, an account of Decoys and Decoying in Essex, 

 and a Chronological List of published works, &c., referred 

 to and quoted from. 



No one can be more fully aware than I am myself of 

 the incompleteness of my book. A complete work of the 

 kind is, indeed, impossible. Fresh observations are continu- 

 ally being made and many records of old ones, which have 

 escaped my notice, will doubtless be discovered. The chief 

 use of such a work as mine is to collect all the information 

 available up to a certain date, and, by showing the incom- 

 pleteness of our local knowledge, to stimulate others to fill 

 the gaps and extend general observation on the habits and 

 distribution of birds. Thus my work will fail in its object if 

 it does not quickly show its own incompleteness. 



I have introduced the illustrations because I believe that 

 they will largely add to the popularity of my book. Though 

 not so good or so uniform a series as might have been wished, 

 I believe they will be found useful by many of my readers 

 who are not skilled ornithologists. In some, a resem- 

 blance may be traced to the well-known cuts in Yarrell's 

 standard British Birds. These originally appeared, many 

 years ago, in a now-almost-forgotten work which at the time 

 of its publication figured in the law courts, the publishers 

 being condemned to pay damages for infringement of copy- 

 right. I now use the cuts with the concurrence of Messrs. 

 Gurney and Jackson, the present owners of the copyright in 

 Yarrell's work. Some others will be seen to be merely reduced 



