vi PREFACE. 



be, the consequence is, that the catalogue of British 

 Birds is constantly receiving additions, though it is 

 by no means clear that every bird admitted into 

 the list has a right to be considered ferce naturae. 



The publication of Yarrell's admirable History of 

 British Birds, in 1837-1843, naturally attracted the 

 attention of Ornithologists, and the interval which 

 elapsed between the first and second editions of that 

 work, enabled the author to collect information which 

 had been for many years in the possession of private 

 individuals only. This source of information was of 

 course exhausted at the publication of the second 

 edition in 1845, and the birds subsequently added 

 to the catalogue must be looked upon with more 

 than ordinary suspicion, for several reasons ; one of 

 which, the very high price now given for rarities, 

 must not be lost sight of. 



The present volume contains an account, more or 

 less detailed, of all the birds figured in the second 

 edition of Yarrell, as well as of some few which 

 have been observed since the date of that publi- 

 cation. And in order that the reader may be 

 presented with a catalogue completed up to the 

 present date, June, 1862, of all birds having any 

 claim to be considered British, the following sup- 

 plemental list is added, specifying the names of 

 recently observed birds not described in the body 

 of the work, the seasons and places of their appear- 

 ance, and references to the works which contain a 

 detailed account of their capture and history. 



