INTRODUCTION. X i 



In preparing the accounts of the British distribution, we have 

 made free use of Howard Saunders's well-known "Manual," especially 

 for the earlier records of rarer species. We have also consulted 

 the numerous county avifaunas, and the series of Scottish faunas, 

 as well as the various journals devoted, or partly devoted, to British 

 ornithology. We are also indebted to Messrs. Ussher and Warren's 

 excellent book on the " Birds of Ireland," and to the former author's 

 recently published " List of Irish Birds " ; we have further to thank 

 Mr. Ussher for his great kindness in checking the proofs of the Irish 

 distribution. There is still much to be learnt about the exact 

 distribution of the birds in the British Isles, and we hope that the 

 publication of this Hand-List, in which the distribution is given 

 in concise form, will lead to some of the gaps in our knowledge 

 being filled, and to misstatements being corrected. 



Unfortunately, up to a few years ago, British ornithologists 

 failed to see the importance of separating definitely, nearly allied 

 forms of the same species. Consequently, the older records of the 

 occurrences of two or more forms of one species were " lumped " 

 under one heading, and little trouble was taken to ascertain to which 

 form any particular bird belonged. It has been impossible to 

 examine more than a very few of the specimens in question, but we 

 hope now that the great importance of subspecific distinctions is 

 fully realized, to have more of these older specimens sent for 

 examination, so that the subspecies to which they belong may be 

 determined, and thus their place of origin be more exactly ascertained. 



There are some who think that a distinction should be made 

 between " vagrants " which have occurred a good many times, 

 and those which have occurred only once or twice, but no distinction 

 save a purely arbitrary one can be so made. It is certainly of far 

 greater interest to know that such a bird has occurred in one area 

 several times than once, for one occurrence might be due to a pure 

 accident. On the other hand, the experience of the last few years 

 during which certain circumscribed areas such as Fair Isle, the Isle 

 of May, and the south-east corner of England, have been very closely 

 watched, proves that many of these " vagrants " or " stragglers " 

 occur much more often than was formerly supposed. Indeed, so 

 convincing is the proof that it must be obvious to everyone who 

 has studied the question at all, that for every " straggler " which is 

 identified and recorded, at least ten, let us say, go past unidentified 



