30 Lost British Birds. 



head, the usual company of small wandering titmice, with 

 here and there a robin, wren, or creeper a day of terribly 

 small things for the ornithologist ! If, by chance, a buzzard 

 or heron should appear, the unexpectedness of the sight, 

 the great size by contrast of such a bird, the instant relief 

 and change it affords from the almost hateful monotony 

 which English bird life usually presents, excites the beholder 

 with astonishment and delight, as if some lordly giant among 

 the avians had been seen an ostrich or a condor. 



For this condition of things we have to thank the game- 

 preserver. 



