BIRDS IN A CORNISH VILLAGE 



TAKING STOCK OF THE BIRDS 



Having begun, or first v/ritten, this book in 

 one village, which was near London, I am now 

 finishing, or re-writing, it in another in ^'the 

 westest part of all the land," over three hundred 

 miles from the first. Here I had to go over this 

 ancient work of twenty-three years ago, which 

 was also my first English bird book, to prepare it 

 for a new edition; and after all necessary correc- 

 tions, omissions and additions of fresh matter made 

 in the foregoing parts, it seemed best to throw out 

 the whole of the concluding portion, which dealt 

 mainly with the question of bird-preservation as 



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