' Preface vii 



than if the birds were taken against the sky. To illus- 

 trate this in a word, the varying shades in the foliage 

 of a tree are seen much more effectively when backed 

 by a distant hill, than when the tree is outlined against 

 the light. Stalking may generally be successfully em- 

 ployed in photographing" sea-birds at their breeding 

 stations, at which time they are more or less tame, 

 although the wear and tear of the knees on the sharp 

 rocks, no less than that of the temper, are things to be^ 

 remembered. 



I have not considered it necessary to enter into full 

 details concerning all the birds which are shown in the 

 illustrations, as this plan would entail much sameness 

 of description ; besides which, this book does not claim 

 to be of a scientific nature, save to the extent that the 

 information contained therein is authentic. To avoid 

 confusion of identity, I have thought it better to put 

 the Latin names below the English ones in describing 

 the illustrations of the birds ; these names have been 

 taken, in the case of the birds of the Canary Islands, 

 from Mr. Meade- Waldo's list which appeared in the 

 Ibis for April, 1893, and in the case of the South 

 African birds, from Mr. W. L. Sclater's list. The figures 

 which follow the Latin names refer, approximately, to 

 the lengths of the individual birds, in inches. 



I may confess, at once, that I am no Spanish scholar, 

 but the isolated words and few short sentences which 

 appear in that language in the first part of my book, 

 have become so associated in my mind with the matter 

 to which they relate, that they would seem to me out 

 of place if written in English. 



For any shortcomings in the book, I must claim the 



