6 INTRODUCTORY. 



ruff and reedling among the least drained parts of the fens 

 and the quieter retreats of the broads ; the grouse, short- 

 eared owl and harrier on the bleak moors; 



, 7^ 1C the mountain-hare and ptarmigan among the 

 hills and stony plateaux of the Highlands of 

 Scotland ; and the woodcock, snipe, and quail on the edge 

 of the peat-bogs of Ireland. The student of birds will 

 recognise nay, expect that a certain influence should be 

 exerted on their course in migration by headlands that bid 

 the weary rest, and muddy estuaries that stay those that 

 hunger. Indeed, one estuary or one promontory is not to 

 him as another, and he will not deem as of slight moment 

 the difference between the chalk of Shakespeare Cliff or 

 Beachy Head and the shingle of Dungeness. He will 

 notice, too, that the mountains of Ireland fringe the coast, 

 leaving the interior, by comparison, lowland. 



All these matters appeal so differently to the casual 

 reader and to him who takes an interest in them. How 



Fauna of many would find food for reflection in the pecu- 



Lsle of liarities of the denizens of the Isle of Wight ? 



Wight. Y^ it j s sure ly not quite devoid of interest 

 that in that little outpost of England, separated from 

 the New Forest 1 and the most fishful rivers in the south 

 country by a mere ditch, the woods should afford shel- 

 ter to but few owls and woodpeckers, the streams hold 

 neither pike, nor perch, nor chub, nor gudgeon ; that the 

 ring -ousel should abstain from breeding there; that the 

 toad should be commoner than the frog, the viper in excess 

 of the more harmless snake. 



To the few, however, the bare enumeration of such facts 

 as the impossibility of inducing certain birds to take kindly 

 to island or even mainland districts, offering to all appear- 

 ance the identical conditions of their not far-distant home, 



1 It must be admitted that, save for Mr Witherby and others blest 

 with exceptional opportunities for exploring it, this most attractive of 

 our forests is not an ideal bird-resort. I recollect Mr Lascelles attrib- 

 uting this to lack of suitable food. 



