PREFACE 



THE object of this book is to make as easy as limits of space 

 permit the recognition of all the British species, their nests 

 and eggs, except the rarest, The descriptions have been 

 written with an eye to the requirements of the non-specialist 

 observer, and, if the instructions on p. viii are followed, they 

 should prove adequate for practical purposes. 



Descriptions of the female bird and of the young are given 

 only when these differ markedly from the adult male. Like- 

 wise seasonal changes of plumage are ignored unless marked 

 enough to make a description necessary for identification. The 

 descriptions and measurements of eggs follow for the most 

 part those of the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain in the British Bird 

 Book. Complete descriptions of nests have yet to be written, 

 the range of material used by particular species being much 

 greater than the standard works would lead one to suppose. 

 The descriptions here given will, however, suffice for purposes 

 of identification. 



The short notes on migration and distribution, and other 

 information as to time of laying, &c., are introduced solely to 

 aid identification by showing when and where the species and 

 their eggs are to be found. Limitations of space make it 

 obviously impossible to give anything but the strict minimum 

 of information necessary for this purpose. 



The scientific nomenclature adopted follows the Rules laid 

 down by the Fifth International Zoological Congress as applied 

 in the Hand-list of British Birds by Hartert, Jourdain, Tice- 

 hurst, and Witherby (1912), except in so far as changes in the 

 generic name involve changes in classification. Where this 



nomenclature differs from that of H. Saunders' Manual, 



iii 



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