xxxii INTRODUCTION. 



but as a relative part which assists in forming an almost perfect and har- 

 monious whole. In the words of the illustrious Darwin : " When we no 

 longer look at an organic being as a savage looks at a ship, as something 

 wholly beyond his comprehension, when we regard every production of 

 Nature as one which has had a long history, when we contemplate every 

 complex structure and instinct as the summing-up of many contrivances, 

 each useful to the possessor, in the same way as any great mechanical 

 invention is the summing-up of the labour, the experience, the reason, and 

 even the blunders of numerous workmen ; when we thus view each organic 

 being, how far more interesting (I speak from experience) does the study 

 of natural history become ! " 



Oology, as a science, is almost virgin ground for research, and its import- 

 ance in elucidating much that is strange in the economy of birds is great. 

 It is when Oology becomes more generally and comparatively studied, and 

 an interchange of observations by oologists in various parts of the world 

 effected, that the importance of protective colouring, mimicry, bird archi- 

 tecture, &c. will become manifest, the present insufficiency of data bearing 

 on the subject being a very great obstacle to its scientific progress. Every 

 little detail, however insignificant it may seem, must be recorded ere we 

 can gain a complete knowledge of this interesting branch of research ; and 

 the remote history of a species must not be neglected where it can be 

 traced with reasonable certainty. 



I hope to return to this fascinating subject at no distant date, treating it 

 on a wider basis by including the nests and eggs of birds from all parts of 

 the world. I shall be extremely obliged for any notes from any part of 

 the world bearing on the subject of Birds' Nests, Eggs, and Nidification ; 

 for I am convinced that it is only by collecting an immense variety of 

 such facts that the subject can be successfully investigated. 



