Vlll PREFACE. 



that of Fish to two hundred and ten. These added 

 together give five hundred and eighty-one as the total 

 number, exceeding that above stated by ninety-four. But 

 independently of these additions which have been made of 

 late years to our native Animals, Dr. Fleming's work pro- 

 fessing to be in a great measure only a compilation, it was 

 thought that one which partook more of an original cha- 

 racter, would not prove unacceptable at the present day. It 

 must not be forgotten that two other works connected with 

 the Vertebrate" Division of the British Fauna have appeared 

 since the one just spoken of. I allude to the excellent 

 " Illustrations of British Ornithology" by Mr. Selby, pub- 

 lished in 1833, in which the number of Birds is raised to 

 two hundred and eighty*, and the valuable " British Fishes" 

 of Mr. Yarrell now in course of publication. But not to 

 dwell upon the circumstance, that these works are upon 

 totally different plans from that of the present one, the 

 author conceives that a single volume comprising all the 

 Vertebrate Animals which have been observed hitherto in 

 these Islands will form a useful addition to the library 

 of the British Naturalist, as well as prove a convenient 

 travelling companion. 



A few remarks may now be made upon the particular 

 plan which is adopted in the present work. And first, it 

 must be stated why a deviation has been made from Dr. 

 Fleming's method of separating from the other species, and 

 partially excluding from the British Fauna, those animals 

 which have occurred as Stragglers only in a few rare in- 

 stances. The reason is founded in the impossibility of 

 drawing any marked line where such separation shall com- 



* The exact number of species given by Mr. Selby is two hundred and eighty - 

 even, but six, if not seven, of these cannot be considered otherwise than as 

 doubtful natives. 



