ON 



THE DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS IN GREAT BRITAIN 



DURING THE NESTING SEASON. 



[Reprinted from the "IBIS," 1865.] 



ALL books on British ornithology give some indication, more or less 

 exact, of the range or distribution of the several birds. Still I am not 

 aware that any one in this country has yet made this branch of ornitho- 

 logy a special subject of study, interesting as it is in itself, and impor- 

 tant in many scientific points of view. 



Whether we wish to compare the respective range of the different 

 branches of our Fauna and Flora, or to contrast their distribution in 

 Great Britain with their range on the Continent, whether it is our object 

 to estimate the effect of climate, prevailing winds, soil, geographical 

 position, or the influence of man, all these most interesting questions 

 can only be properly investigated when we have sufficiently exact data in 

 each of the classes. Thus it is hoped that an attempt to illustrate the 

 distribution of our birds on a regular and methodical plan will not be 

 without its use. 



Our census is necessarily limited to the nesting-season, that being 

 the only time when the birds can be treated as stationary ; and, for the 

 sake of uniformity, we have adopted the districts already employed by 

 Mr. H. C. Watson in his great work on the geographical distribution of 

 British plants, the ' Cybele Britannica.' 



The present outline is confessedly imperfect, not only from the 

 insufficient number of observers, but because it has been thought better 

 in many cases to withhold information of a doubtful character, rather 

 than run the risk of mixing good with bad authority ; and as no pains 

 have been spared to investigate every disputed point, it is hoped that 

 the results may be accepted as tolerably accurate so far as they go. 



Had our scheme any claim to completeness, it might no doubt be 

 considered partly as a record of the present and past distribution of 



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