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. ©. 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 ry of H. Saunders’ Manual, 
