out the country. One often hears a great outcry about a bird 

 having been killed, as if the species really suffered to any extent 

 by its death. Those who make the outcry apparently do not 

 remember that the most beautiful and interesting species be it 

 bird, insect, or flower was not intended to, nor does it, escape 

 contributing its share for the benefit of others. If the bird be 

 a migratory one, it had to run the risk of being lost either in a 

 gale or fog, or, perhaps, when fatigued after reaching land, fall- 

 ing a prey to a Hawk or some other natural enemy. No doubt, 

 destroying a pair of birds which have come to breed at a parti- 

 cular place, you and others may, perhaps, be deprived of the 

 pleasure of hearing and seeing the species for the season ; but 

 the individuals killed are of small account in estimating the 

 number of the species. Few species, I think, are really rare, 

 that is, few in number. I apprehend the difficulty is to find 

 their peculiar locality, and at it they will not be uncommon. 

 The reason of this supposition is that, judging from a bird like 

 the Grey Plover, it is probable, from its being a numerous spe- 

 cies, its breeding ground will extend in Europe over a very great 

 extent of country, like the Golden Plover ; and if this is so, and 

 its breeding ground is yet unknown to us, there must be plenty 

 of ground yet unsearched where many species that appear rare 

 to us may be abundant. The exceptions to this seems to be such 

 birds only as have not the usual means of escape, namely, wings. 

 Where such birds existed, and were confined, perhaps, to a li- 

 mited district, and there killed out or nearly so, there can be no 

 source left from which to replenish the depopulated country. 

 Many complaints are made of the few wild ducks in comparison 

 to what there were formerly. The reason in a great measure 

 probably is that nearly all the small strands, backwaters, and 

 shallows, by the river and lake sides, where they used to feed 

 at nights, are drained, and consequently do not hold water long 

 enough to breed the insect and shell, and grow the plant food on 

 which they feed ; and the birds, being deprived of their feeding 

 grounds, do not remain in the neighbourhood, even though the 

 main water is left untouched. I have derived the greatest plea- 

 sure from seeing birds alive and wild, and also from sometimes 



