CHAPTER XIII 



BIRD LIFE IN ENGLAND 



IN the spring of 1900 I made a visit to the 

 British Museum, London, and to the French 

 Museum in Paris, to study some of the forms of 

 birds found in southern South America. The 

 expeditions, under the auspices of Princeton 

 University, which had been sent to Patagonia 

 to investigate the paleontology of that country, 

 were not only eminently successful in that under- 

 taking, but in addition, extensive collections of 

 extant forms of animal and plant life were pro- 

 cured. Among the former were some eight 

 hundred birds. The entire achievements of Mr. 

 J. B. Hatcher and his aids were so notable as to 

 warrant the publication of the results in detail. 

 I was intrusted with the volume in this series 

 which related to birds. This work took me to 

 the great museums in London and Paris, for the 

 early French voyagers had explored numerous 

 points in Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the 

 Falkland Islands, and the illustrious Darwin had 

 made a protracted stay in different parts of 



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