PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. 



THE following letters were originally addressed 

 to a friend, residing beyond the Tweed, and owe 

 their appearance in a collected form to a sub- 

 sequent suggestion that they might become a 

 popular contribution to the Fauna of Sussex, 

 possessing some attractions for the sportsman as 

 well as the ornithologist. 



The author cannot, however, conceal from him- 

 self that, having on the present occasion limited 

 the sphere of his observations to a single county, 

 it would be vain and presumptuous of him to 

 expect that they should prove as interesting to 

 the general reader as to those who, from local 



