PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION. xiii 



species mentioned in those admirable volumes, my only 

 regret being that I did not possess the third. 



For many years I had but little time or opportunity 

 for the study of ornithology ; but when I had settled 

 down to a schoolmaster's arduous toil, I began again to 

 seek solace and recreation in my old and still fondly 

 remembered pursuits. 



I formed a Field Club in the School, and enjoyed 

 many a pleasant and health-giving ramble with some 

 of the boys, our great ambition being to note as many 

 species as possible when we went abroad. 



In all these excursions a beloved child was with me ; 

 and gradually I extended them to a week or two in 

 England, visiting Yorkshire, where, when on a visit to 

 Rev. R. D. French, Vicar of Warter, we were privileged 

 to make the acquaintance of Rev. F. O. Morris, the 

 well-known author of British Birds. We also visited 

 Bardon Hill, and many other favoured localities, such 

 as Wymondham Park, near East Dereham, Horsey 

 Broad, Aldborough, and other places, where we heard 

 the Nightingale and other warblers, some of them for 

 the first time. 



Then we took a bolder flight, and crossed to Holland 

 and Germany, coming home delighted with the Icterine 

 and Great Reed Warblers, and hoping soon to hear 

 them again. 



By this time, too, we had formed a museum of more 



